UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


^;S1TY  of  CALIFORNIA 

LUi  -rvI^oHLES 
LIBRAKY 


FOLK   FESTIVALS 

Their  Growth  and  How  to  Give  Them 


BY 

MARY  MASTER  NEEDHAM 


NEW   YORK 

B.  W.  HUEBSCH 

1912 


Copyright,  1912,  by 
B.  W,  HUEBSCH 


PRINTED  IN  U.  S.  A. 


1393 


TO 

MY  MOTHER 

IN   GRATITUDE 

FOR   HER   ETERNAL   YOUTH 

AND  UNFAILING   UNDERSTANDING, 

I   PLACE   THIS   GIFT 

UPON   HER  ALTAR 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/folkfestivalsOOneed 


PREFACE 

It  Is  with  the  hope  that  this  fruit  of  my  own 
experiences  may  inspire  others  to  blaze  trails, 
that  I  send  out  Folk  Festivals.  Not  in  any  way 
does  it  aim  to  be  exhaustive.  Rather  the  mate- 
rial has  been  chosen  with  the  idea  that  it  may 
create  a  desire  to  give  festivals,  and  at  the  same 
time  furnish  a  working  basis  for  them.  Because 
I  firmly  believe  that  the  value  of  this  move- 
ment must  be  in  Its  research,  Its  spontaneity,  and 
its  creativeness,  I  have  so  limited  the  material. 
At  the  same  time  I  have  tried  to  make  the  book 
practical  for  those  who  are  pioneers  both  in  their 
interest  and  in  their  work  on  festivals. 

To  my  pupils  to  whom  I  went  to  school,  I  owe 
much.  To  Miss  Esther  Braley  and  to  Mr.  Frank 
A.  Manny,  I  am  indebted  for  help  in  blazing  my 
own  trail.  Not  only  did  they  give  me  courage 
at  the  start,  but  they  have  stayed  by  me  along 
the  path.  Without  the  active  and  faithful  inter- 
est of  Mr.  William  Hard  the  book  would  not 
have  been  written.     For  the  great  task  of  reading 


PREFACE 

my  manuscript  I  owe  a  commensurate  gratitude  to 
Mr.  H.  K.  Bassett  and  to  Mr.  Manny.  And  for 
the  encouragement  and  interest  which  made  the 
daily  work  in  it  possible,  I  am  indebted  to  my 
husband. 

M.  M.  N. 
Evanston,  111. 
February   i,    191 2. 


VI 


FOREWORD 

A  barber  In  a  Philadelphia  club  sighed  as  he 
said  to  me  recently,  "  The  World's  great  events' 
are  all  over!  "  It  took  me  a  moment  to  regain 
myself  sufficiently  to  realize  that  he  was  discussing 
baseball !  Few  interests  and  activities  are  so 
thoroughly  social  as  some  of  the  popular  sports 
and  games.  Within  a  few  hours  after  a  great 
contest  a  hundred  thousand  people  are  awakened 
and  thrilled  as  little  else  could  stir  them,  so  de- 
pendent upon  others  have  they  become  for  oppor- 
tunities for  experiences  which  carry  with  them 
strong  emotions. 

This  widespread  common  Interest  is  a  great 
gain  but  we  need  much  more  general  participa- 
tion. Children  and  adults  alike  must  be  active 
themselves  to  gain  the  re-creation  and  growth  of 
imagination  and  Invention  they  require.  It  Is  this 
that  gives  to  them  that  prolongation  of  the  period 
of  growth  so  necessary  to  give  balance  and  mean- 
ing to  the  specialization  necessary  in  earning  a 
living. 

vii 


FOREWORD 

Man  playing  Is  needed  as  well  as  man  thinking 
and  man  working.  The  stress  upon  thought  and 
work  in  the  development  of  modern  life  led  for  a 
time  to  an  undervaluation  of  many  social  tools, 
as  the  festival  and  the  game,  which  had  been  of 
great  significance  In  earlier  periods.  Man  light- 
ens his  baggage  as  new  needs  arise  and  supposes 
that  he  is  through  with  whatever  of  impedimenta 
he  has  cast  aside.  Sooner  or  later,  however,  he 
or  his  descendants  learn  that  one  reason  for  les- 
sening the  load  is  that,  by  this  means,  strength  and 
experience  may  be  secured  to  regain  and  use  more 
adequately  some  of  the  material  which  was  con- 
sidered at  one  time  a  hindrance. 

The  pioneer  who  carries  the  seeds  of  progress 
to  a  new  frontier  must  select  his  pack  with  care. 
He  finds  an  art  joy  in  his  new  labors  without  rec- 
ognizing it  as  an  art  and  he  has  little  regret  for 
the  carnivals  and  feast  days  he  has  left  behind. 
But  as  his  work  becomes  more  social  and  involves 
wider  relationships  the  simple  individual  ma- 
chinery is  insuflicient  and  he  must  have  communi- 
cation or  his  task  will  fail.  In  the  life  that  "  no 
man  liveth  unto  himself  alone,"  the  means  of 
communication  make  him  social  and  give  him 
art. 

viii 


FOREWORD 

In  America  the  devotion  of  the  pioneer  has 
made  possible  a  new  state  of  commerce  and  manu- 
facture, and  now  more  effective  use  of  what  has 
been  accomphshed  waits  upon  a  rebirth  of  still 
other  social  activities  —  those  most  immediately 
concerned  with  health  and  joy  and  appreciation. 

The  festival  has  played  an  important  part  In 
the  life  of  the  past.  It  has  survived  during 
strenuous  periods  under  the  names  of  entertain- 
ment, show,  social,  sociable,  etc.  At  present  It 
Is  proving  Itself  a  part  of  the  democratic  move- 
ment. On  the  one  hand  it  calls  out  the  powers  of 
Invention  and  energizing  activity  of  the  individual 
and,  on  the  other.  It  reveals  to  him  his  best  oppor- 
tunities for  self-expression  or  better  self-com- 
munication In  active  association  with  others. 
Speech,  music,  gesture,  pantomime,  acting,  play, 
the  dance,  stage  setting  and  adaptation  with  many 
other  arts  join  to  furnish  a  tool  of  wonderful  pos- 
sibilities. To  the  observer  of  a  great  festival  in 
which  thousands  of  children  take  part  the  future 
of  a  generation  trained  In  this  way  Is  significant 
for  democracy  and  art.  This  is  more  evident  if 
he  has  followed  the  earlier  steps  of  the  process 
and  has  seen  how  children  and  grown  people  have 
developed  in  meeting  responsibilities,   in  putting 

ix 


FOREWORD 

their  thoughts  and  feelings  into  material  form 
and  have  developed  character  from  what  they 
have  created. 

Mrs.  Needham's  experiences  leading  up  to  this 
book  have  been  of  this  nature.  The  work  of  her 
many  students  has  been  remarkably  cooperative 
yet  the  individuals  concerned  have  had  little 
chance  to  lose  their  self-activity.  In  fact  the  joy 
of  unaccustomed  freedom  of  participation  often 
led  to  revelations  of  unexpected  power  of  work 
and  persistence.  The  result  was  that  whether  the 
undertaking  was  a  simple  pantomime  or  drama- 
tization by  little  children,  a  Dutch  or  Hungarian 
festival  involving  the  searching  out  of  disappear- 
ing immigrant  customs,  or  a  standard  play,  the 
final  rendering  was  a  new  creation. 

Wise  handling  of  this  kind  of  work  gives 
technique  impossible  through  formal  drill  alone. 
The  start  made  in  these  festivals  opened  up  long 
vistas  of  meaningful  experience  in  which  reading; 
writing;  adequate  speech,  song,  movement  and 
posture;  the  conservation  of  family  customs  (too 
often  a  source  of  misunderstanding  to  the  young)  ; 
the  culture  and  life  of  the  past,  all  become  tools 
to  aid  in  realizing  and  enriching  the  activities 
called  for  by  present  needs. 


FOREWORD 

Both  to  those  who  require  help  to  make  a  start 
and  to  those  who  are  ready  for  further  guidance 
on  the  way  this  book  will  be  very  welcome. 

Frank  A.  Manny. 


XI 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface ▼ 

Foreword i.i    ....     .   yii 

PART  I. 

ZTbe  pioneer  3Festi\>al .   .   .   .    i 

The    Old    Deerfield    historical    pageant  —  Vicarious 
activities  —  The  pioneer  road. 

A  Children's  Pioneer  Festival 30 

Value  of  the  pioneer  festival. 

PART  ir. 

XTbe  Spirit  ot  tbe  jfesta    ...  42 

?  Pageant  defined,   festival  defined  —  Revival  of  his- 

I  toric  pageantry  in  England  —  Revival  of  the  festival 
I  in  a  Normal  School  —  Description  of  the  Greek  May 
y^  festival. 

Method  of  Procedure 51 

Games,    songs,    pantomimes,    dances,    costuming  — 
.^-'Difficulties  of  dramatization. 

May  Day  Festival  Given  by  Seventh  Grade  Pupils     .    67 

Merry  Mount  May-Pole 70 

Some  Traditions  of  May  Day 75 

The    milk-maids  —  Chimney    sweeps  —  The    Robin 
Hood  group  —  May-games. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Har\t!st  Festival 83 

Feast  of  the  Tabernacle  —  The  Harvest  Home  — 
The  Kern  —  The  Mell-supper. 

Hallowe'en 87 

Thanksgiving 90 

The  first  American  Thanksgiving  —  Thanksgiving 
festivals  in  a  Training  School. 

PART  HI. 

jfestal  ^Heritage 95 

The  circus  —  Its  origin  —  The  first  circus  in  Newr 
England. 

Pantomime 104 

The  old  pantomime  —  The  modern  pantomime  — 
Harlequin,  the  clown  —  Pierrot  and  Pierrette  —  The 
puppet-show  —  Marionettes  —  The  Marionette  play  in 
New  York. 

Minstrelsy ii5 

Minstrels  —  Minnesingers  —  Meistersingers  — 
Troubadours  —  Jongleurs  —  Jesters  and  Fools. 

The  Mummers 120 

Their  Christmas  play. 

The  Spirit  of  Old  World  Festivals 125 

The  Siena  Palio. 

Guatemala  City  Fete 131 

The  Festival  Play  at  Rothenburg  on  the  Tauber   .     .135 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PA«B 

PART  IV. 

Cboice  of  Subject 143 

^,^'Xhristm_as  —  Winter  solstice  —  The  Saturnalia  — 
Legend  of  Balder  and  the  mistletoe  —  Legend  of  St. 
Boniface  and  the  fir  tree  —  Type  of  Pagan-Christian 
play  —  Old  English  Christmas  —  Christmas  as  an 
American  festival  —  Description  of  Dutch  Christmas 
festival  —  The  celebration  of  legal  holidays  in  Amer- 
ica. 

The  Fourth  of  July 164 

What  it  commemorates  —  Some  features  of  the  first 
celebrations. 

Washington's  Birthday 172 

When   first  celebrated  —  Some  incidents    suggested 
for  festivals. 
Thanksgiving  Day 180 

Memorial  Day 181 

Community  Festival 183 

Description  of  a  Hungarian  festival. 

PART  V. 

Zbc  tlse  of  ^festivals  in  Connection 
witb  BMa^Qroun^s  an&  Scbools .    .  191 

The  Playground  movement  —  Its  community  value 
in  fostering  folk-art  —  The  dance  —  Social  inheritance 

—  The  natural  expression  —  The  Dance  of  the  Seises 

—  The  problem  in  adolescence  —  The  legend  of   St, 
George  —  His  festival  at  Furth  im  Walde,  Germany 

—  Folk  songs  —  The  drama. 

Schools 208 

The   festival  as  a  definite   factor  in  the  school  — 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Festival  as  a  means  of  co-ordinating  different  depart- 
ments —  Description  of  Norse  festival  given  by  3rd 
grade  —  The  old  Chester  pageants  —  Coventry  plays 

—  Small  fetes  in  France  —  The  fete  of  Sire  de  Gayon 

—  The  fete  of  Avignon  —  Dedication  festival  of  the 
Normal  School  in  Boston. 

PART  VI. 

IPs^cbolooic  Bftects  of  tbe  jf estival .  226 

The    value    of    folk-art  —  The    Stratford-on-Avon 
festival  movement  —  Festival  in  East  End  in  London 

—  Effect  of  festival  on  individual  —  Prolongation  of 
pleasure  period  —  Festival  in  the  district  school  — 
Summary. 

References 240 


FOLK   FESTIVALS 


PART  I 
Ube  IPioneer  ^festival 


W 


C  C"^  '^  yHAT'S  the  use  of  even  talking  about 
it?  I  can't  —  I  can't  go  to  that  an- 
niversary! I'm  tired  of  exhuming 
dead  dust.  We  can't  have  anything  alive  in  this 
town,  or  anyone !  Everyone  that  has  a  spark  of 
life  leaves  before  he  dries  up  and  dies.  Even  the 
children  can't  run  a  lemonade  stand  for  two  hours 
—  the  town  is  too  dead  to  support  it!  Then 
think  of  planning  an  '  anniversary  in  honor  of  our 
patriots.'  Humph!  I'm  going  to  leave  and  go 
on  the  stage,  or  join  the  circus.  Anything  where 
there's  something  doing." 

"  PoIIie,"  remonstrated  her  mother,  "  you  can't 
know  what  you  are  saying.  This  town  that  you 
speak  of  so  slightingly  is  one  of  the  historic  places 
of  your  country,  and  in  your  veins  flows  the  blood 

I 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

of  some  of  the  heroes  of  this  nation."     And  Mrs. 
Williams  lifted  her  head  proudly. 

"  Historic  places !  Heroes  I  "  snapped  Pollie. 
"What  good  does  that  do  me?  All  I  know  is 
that  up  and  down  the  street  are  little  slabs  stating : 
'  Here  lies  thing-um-a-gum  that  shot,  mangled  and 
killed  two  hundred  and  fifty  regiments  of  sol- 
diers.' '  This  stone  marks  the  place  where  the 
effigy  of  King  George  was  burned  by  our  patriots.' 
'  Here  was  the  home  of  the  Colonel  who  led  our 
first  company  To  Arms  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,'  and  so  forth,  and  so  forth,  and  so  forth. 
Well,"  and  Pollie  got  up  in  her  excitement,  "  what 
about  it?  They  all  did  something.  That's  why 
a  slab  is  stuck  up.  But  what  do  we  do,  and  what 
do  they  mean  to  us?  Just  stones  to  scrape  the 
mud  off  our  shoes  when  we  come  in  from 
the  marshes  —  and  to  point  theatrically  toward 
when  our  relatives  visit  this  '  quaint  town.'  " 
"  PolHe,"  gasped  her  mother.  *'  You  — " 
"  If  I  could  be  carried  off  by  Indians,"  con- 
tinued Pollie,  too  excited  to  be  interrupted,  "  and 
nearly  murdered,  and  escape  from  my  Indian  mas- 
ter in  Canada,  as  one  of  my  remote  grandfathers 
did,  why  I'd  —  I'd  —  I'd  think  a  little  more  of 
him,"  she  asserted  paradoxically.     "  But  I'm  sick 

2 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

of  his  name  and  I'm  not  going  to  any  anniversary, 
'  in  honor  of  our  patriots,'  and  hear  Sarah  Spencer 
read  some  of  her  poems  on  our  '  wonderful  town 
and  our  heroic  progenitors;'  and  hear  Pastor 
Brown  pray  for  our  especially-blessed-by-Provi- 
dence  town,  and  listen  to  the  school  children  recite 
orations  on,  '  Heroes  every  child  should  know.' 
Can't  I  just  remember  how  I  got  that  stuff  for  my 
oration  out  of  stupid  histories  and  encyclopedias !  " 

"  Pollie,  you  must  stop  this  tirade.  I  can't  un- 
derstand how  you  — " 

"  Now  please  don't  say  anything.  I'm  tired 
and  sick  of  the  whole  performance  of  these  an- 
niversaries and  holidays.  I  want  to  do  something 
myself  —  not  just  sit  around  and  bask  in  the  fact 
that  a  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  years 
ago  I  had  a  few  ancestors  who  did  something,  or 
else  were  '  done  for '  themselves  in  that  ever- 
lasting massacre  of  ours.  We'll  never  hear  the 
end  of  that  massacre.  You'd  think  this  country 
supported  only  one.  I  quite  agree  with  Uncle 
Williams  who  grunted  out  the  other  day  that  he 
thought  it  was  about  time  we  had  another  massa- 
cre and  killed  off  a  few  of  these  '  squaws  '  who 
don't  talk  about  anything  else." 

"  Pollie,  how  can  you  say  these  things  before 
3 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Jane?"   asked  her  sister,  who   entered  with  her 
friend.      "  You  are  a  rebellious  child." 

"  So  were  my  grandfathers,"  was  the  answer. 
"They're  the  cause  of  it  all  —  me  included." 

"  ril  tell  you,"  said  Jane,  the  friend,  as  a  happy 
idea  struck  her,  "  why  don't  you  give  a  festi- 
val?" 

"Festival,"  sneered  Pollie.  "How  can  we? 
The  strawberries  are  all  gone !  " 

"Strawberries?"  echoed  Jane  in  surprise. 

"  Yes  —  can't  have  a  festival  without  them." 

"  Child,  what  do  you  mean?  Just  think  of  the 
word  —  F-e-s-t-i-v-a-1.     How  does  it  sound?" 

"  Sounds  gloomy  to  me,"  answered  Pollie, 
whose  only  remembrance  of  a  festival  was  one 
whole  day  spent  in  culling  strawberries  for  an  en- 
tertainment advertised  as  a  "  Strawberry  Festival 
for  the  Benefit  of  Memorial  Hall  —  where  are 
preserved  the  Sacred  Trophies  of  the  Founders  of 
this  Town." 

"Gloomy!  Why,  it's  nothing  but  jollity  and 
joy  and  doing,  doing,  doing,''  rejoined  Jane. 
"  Why,  you  can  be  one  of  your  '  remote  ancestors  ' 
as  you  call  them  and  do  just  what  they  did, 
and—" 

"How?" 

4 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

"  See  here,  didn't  one  of  your  '  remote  '  grand- 
mothers do  anything?" 

"Yes,  got  herself  killed!  but—"  and  Pollie's 
face  lighted  up.  "  Yes,  she  did  do  something. 
When  the  Indians  came  in  and  were  shooting 
down  the  door,  she  wakened  the  children,  gathered 
them  around  her  and  escaped  down  a  secret  stair- 
case, and  concealed  the  children  in  the  hollow  of 
an  old  tree.  Then,  because  it  wasn't  large  enough 
to  hold  her,  she  ran  quickly  away  in  another  direc- 
tion so  as  to  divert  the  Indians'  attention  from  her 
children.  And  then,  you  know,  she  let  the  In- 
dians capture  her;  but  they  found  the  children,  of 
course,  and  carried  them  all  off  to  Canada,  and 
then  she  was  rescued,  and  then,  just  as  she  got 
nearly  home  the  Indians  found  her  and  killed  her. 
Yes,  she  did  do  something,"  and  Pollie  nodded  her 
head  thoughtfully. 

"  Well,"  said  Jane,  "  don't  you  see  you  can  be 
your  '  remote  '  grandmother,  and  we  can  get  Gor- 
don Cotton  to  be  your  '  remote  '  grandfather  — 
he's  big  and  strong,  and  looks  something  like  their 
pictures  —  and  the  school  boys  can  be  the  Indians 
and  some  French  soldiers  and  we  can  have  the 
whole  scene  right  over." 

Pollie's  eyes  brightened.  Was  It  possible  to 
5 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

make  anniversaries  really  interesting?  "  Let's  do 
it!  "  she  said  with  all  the  energy  of  youth.  And 
they  did. 

The  Old  Deerfield  Historical  Pageant  given  on 
the  grounds  of  the  Allen  Homestead  in  July, 
1910,  was  memorable  for  the  illuminating  flashes 
that  it  gave  of  the  town  and  its  people,  covering 
a  period  of  over  two  hundred  years.  Like  Pollie, 
many  in  the  pageant  were  lineal  descendants  of  the 
early  settlers  and  represented  their  own  ancestors 
in  the  episodes. 

In  the  picturesque  yard,  back  of  the  quaint 
homestead,  the  slope  of  the  ground  formed  an 
amphitheater,  and  the  stage  screened  with  laurel 
and  backed  by  trees  and  bushes  seemed  a  natural, 
rather  than  an  artificial,  part  of  the  setting. 
From  here  the  meadow  swept  to  the  dark  woods 
on  the  side  of  the  environing  hills,  and  in  the 
evening  they  threw  their  cloak  of  mystery  over 
the  whole  presentation  as  If  concealing  in  their 
shadows  the  spirits  of  those  who,  for  a  little  time, 
had  played  their  part  upon  this  stage  and  had  left 
behind  them  the  fragrance  of  old  memories  re- 
vived in  this,  the  "  play  "  of  other  years. 

As  the  first  lights  flashed  upon  the  stage  it  was 
a  scene  of  England  that  met  the  eye  —  a  scene  of 

6 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

festive  village  folk  making  merry  round  the 
May-pole  with  their  Morris  dances  and  their 
glees.  As  they  were  reveling  about  their  May 
Queen  a  figure  In  sharp  contrast  walked  solemnly 
and  slowly  out  of  the  shadow.  It  was  a  black- 
garbed  parson  followed  by  a  band  of  Puritans 
whom  the  King  and  Church  were  "  harrying  "  out 
of  England.  For  a  moment  they  threw  a  shadow 
on  the  merry-makers  as  they  wended  their  way  to 
Plymouth  to  embark  on  the  Mary  and  John,  and 
to  follow,  ten  years  after  the  Mayflower,  to  the 
land  of  Peace.  In  the  company  were  the  grand- 
parents of  some  of  the  early  settlers  of  Deerfield. 

While  they  were  tossing  on  the  ocean,  we  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  meadows  that  afterwards  became 
Deerfield,  when  the  Pocumtucks,  the  leading  tribe 
of  that  valley,  lived  there  on  the  banks  of  the 
Deerfield  River. 

Over  two  hundred  years  ago  the  people  of  the 
Old  World  and  the  people  of  the  New  met  to 
exchange  their  wares  —  not  always  to  their  mu- 
tual benefit.  But  the  purchase  of  the  Pocumtuck 
lands  was  an  unusually  fair  one.  To  be  sure,  the 
Pocumtucks  had  hitherto  been  the  kings  of  that 
valley.  The  Connecticut  and  Deerfield  rivers, 
and  the  meadows  and  hills  around,  had  furnished 

7 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

them  their  hunting  and  fishing.  On  the  top  of 
Pine  Hill,  which  is  now  covered  with  Lombardy 
poplars  and  peacefully  overlooks  the  little  stream 
that  winds  around  its  base,  they  had  their  strong- 
hold. But  the  Mohawks  made  battle  and  re- 
venge on  them  for  murdering  a  messenger  who 
had  been  sent  to  mediate  between  them,  and 
their  stronghold  was  destroyed  and  they  were  al- 
most wiped  out.  Therefore,  it  was  a  fortune  that 
came  to  them  from  the  white  men  in  the  form  of 
a  payment  for  these  lands  which,  on  account  of 
their  enemy,  were  no  longer  of  use  to  them.  It 
also  seemed  propitious  to  the  selectmen  of  Ded- 
ham  that  this  beautiful  valley,  so  richly  endowed 
by  Nature,  should  be  free  from  grants,  and  there- 
fore open  to  them.  In  the  Memorial  Hall  the 
people  of  Deerfield  could  look  any  day  upon  that 
deed  signed  by  "  ye  sachem  of  Pacumtuck,  in 
1696."  Never  before,  though,  had  they  actually 
seen  Colonel  Pynchon,  whom  the  selectmen  of 
Dedham  had  chosen  to  purchase  the  eight  thou- 
sand acres,  when,  in  company  with  other  colonists, 
he  met  that  band  of  Indians,  and  according  to 
their  ceremonies,  paid  over  to  them  the  four  pence 
an  acre  and  received  in  return  that  deed  preserved 
for  over  two  centuries  as  the  proof  of  the  honest 

8 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

tenure  of  their  homes.  It  was  good  to  have  one 
glance  of  the  Indians  giving  and  receiving  in  fair- 
ness of  exchange,  and  the  Hunt  Dance  which  fol- 
lowed to  the  accompaniment  of  weird  Indian 
music  seemed  to  complete  this  picture  of  the  In- 
dian as  yet  uncontaminated  by  warfare  and  com- 
merce with  the  Whites.  But  was  there  not  a 
forecast  of  the  scenes  to  follow  in  that  war- 
whoop  which  echoed  down  from  the  hills  after 
the  Indians  had  leaped  into  the  gloom  of  the 
surrounding  woods?  One  could  vividly  fancy 
the  shivers  in  the  hearts  of  the  early  colonists,  as 
they  listened  always  for  this  echo  and  its  attendant 
warning. 

Then  through  the  meadows  on  the  right  came 
an  ox-cart.  In  it  were  Samuel  Hinsdell  and  his 
Puritan  wife,  by  name  Experience.  So  did  the 
first  settlers  of  Deerfield  come,  and  as  one  saw 
them  making  their  way  with  the  few  household 
implements  and  treasures  in  the  ox-cart,  one 
wondered  what  courage  sustained  these  first  set- 
tlers who,  breaking  with  all  their  ties,  leaving 
behind  them  those  that  they  loved  and  the  little 
familiar  objects  of  everyday  life,  casting  aside  all 
other  human  companionship,  were  able,  nay, 
anxious  to  come  and  build  their  lonely  hearth  In 

9 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  wilderness.  Of  course  others  soon  followed, 
but  these  "  first  settlers  "  came  alone  In  the  ox- 
cart; they  built  the  first  house;  and  to  them  was 
born  the  first  child  of  Deerfield,  Mehuman  Hlns- 
dell.  No,  we  may  have  looked  on  Courage  but 
we  have  never  seen  that  side  of  her  face. 

As  Pollle  said,  every  one  who  goes  to  Deer- 
field  is  told  about  "  the  massacre  "  of  September 
1 8,  1675 — and  no  wonder  —  for  it  was,  as  a 
contemporary  said,  "  that  most  fatal  day,  the 
saddest  that  ever  befel  New  England."  In  the 
old  Indian  Cemetery  Is  a  mound  —  a  silent  wit- 
ness to  the  sixty-four  men  buried  in  this  one 
"  dreadful  grave."  The  story  of  that  day  testi- 
fied that  the  war-whoop  of  the  Indians  was  no 
longer  an  echo.  King  Philip  had  incited  the  In- 
dians to  attacks  on  the  frontier  towns  so  that  sol- 
diers had  to  be  sent  from  the  Bay  to  protect  the 
inhabitants.  They  had  their  headquarters  at 
Hadley,  a  settlement  only  a  few  miles  from  Deer- 
field,  with  Colonel  Pynchon  as  their  commander- 
in-chief.  He  ordered  the  wheat  harvested,  and 
sent  Captain  Thomas  Lathrop,  with  his  company, 
to  bring  it  to  Hadley  In  Deerfield  teams.  So  In 
the  early  morning,  when  the  birds  were  singing 
in  the  trees,  and  the  little  brook  went  gurgling 

ID 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

white  and  clear  through  the  thicket  at  the  side 
of  the  woods,  "  Captain  Lathrop,  with  his  choice 
company  of  young  men,  the  very  flower  of  the 
county  of  Essix,"  started  with  his  slow-moving 
teams.  Marching  through  the  woods  he  came 
to  the  brook  in  the  swampy  thicket.  As  they 
started  to  cross  the  nameless  stream,  the  soldiers 
laid  down  their  arms  to  eat  some  of  the  purple 
grapes  that  grew  by  the  way.  The  war-whoop 
was  no  echo  now.  Of  the  seventeen  fathers  and 
brothers  who  had  left  Deerfield  in  the  morning 
not  one  returned.  They  had  fallen  by  that 
stream,  which,  baptized  by  the  blood  of  this 
"  Flower  of  Essix,"  received  its  name.  Bloody 
Brook.  No  history  of  Deerfield  —  no  visit  to 
Deerfield  —  Deerfield  itself  is  not  complete  with- 
out "  the  massacre."  Therefore,  it  was  fair  to 
assume  that  no  historical  pageant  would  be  com- 
plete without  it.  But  how  could  a  massacre  be 
made  vivid  without  being  offensive?  It  spoke 
much  for  the  "  poetry  "  of  those  in  charge  of  the 
pageant  that  the  only  evidence  of  the  massacre 
itself  was  in  a  fusillade  of  rifle  shots,  fired  in  the 
near-by  woods.  We  had  seen  Captain  Lathrop 
and  his  men  start  with  the  carts;  we  knew  to  what 
they  were  going ;  and  when  the  shots  came  the  im- 

II 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

pressive  silence  bespoke  a  recognition  of  the 
waste  and  the  tragedy  of  that  pioneer  time  and  of 
those  who  gave  their  blood  for  us. 

No  wonder  that  after  this  Deerfield  was  de- 
serted. But  Courage  hovered  over  the  valley 
and  beckoned  most  of  the  settlers  back.  So  the 
next  scene  in  the  pageant  showed  Deerfield  after 
it  had  become  a  permanent  settlement.  This 
episode,  in  fact,  occurred  on  the  actual  spot  where 
the  pageant  was  being  presented,  for  it  was  here 
that  Mistress  Hannah  Beaman,  the  first  school 
dame,  lived  and  taught  the  children  of  the  vil- 
lage. Now  she  comes  again  from  her  house 
dressed  in  her  quaint  and  simple  costume,  with 
the  little  white  cap  on  her  head;  and  back  of  her, 
in  the  same  old-time  dresses  and  their  smaller 
white  caps,  comes  her  flock.  How  she  smiled  on 
them  as  they  sang  their  school  songs,  and  the  more 
sing-songy  they  were  the  more  the  school  dame 
smiled.  She  smiled,  too,  at  the  boy  who  went  out 
to  the  well  for  a  drink  of  water.  But  the  smile 
faded  at  the  warning  of  the  little  boy  that  the  In- 
dians were  coming.  Terrified,  Mistress  Beaman 
gathered  her  flock  around  her  and  carrying  the 
littlest  one  in  her  arms  rushed  for  the  stockade  at 
the    right    of    the    grounds.     All    reached    it    in 

12 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

safety  —  except  the  little  boy  who  had  gone  for 
the  drink  of  water.  He  had  fallen  a  prey  to  the 
Indians  who,  led  or  hired  by  the  French  soldiers, 
were  creeping  on  to  the  town. 

This  was  a  time  of  war,  not  peace,  and  Queen 
Anne's  war  brought  bitter  desolation  —  the  deso- 
lation of  death  and  worse  than  that,  the  desola- 
tion of  captivity  —  and  in  Memorial  Hall  are 
pictures  and  records  of  those  captured  by  the 
Indians.  We  saw  the  savages  as  they  surprised 
the  sleeping  town  and  each  claimed  a  captive. 
We  saw  John  Williams,  the  pastor,  as  he  was  led 
out  of  the  "  Old  Indian  House  "  by  an  Indian. 
We  admired  him  and  wondered  at  him  when  we 
saw  how  erect  and  unafraid  he  seemed.  But  it 
was  not  so  with  Dame  Williams.  Slowly,  as  if 
she  were  falling  in  her  grief  and  terror,  she  was 
dragged  along  by  her  captor.  She  turned  back 
often  to  look  at  their  five  children;  at  little 
Stephen  who  had  not  forgotten  his  silver  buttons 
and  buckles,  and  at  small  Eunice,  who,  touching 
some  chord  In  her  captor's  heart,  was  carried  in 
his  arms.  After  her  came  maidens  and  youths, 
some  solemn,  some  shrinking,  many  terrified,  as 
they  started  on  their  long  three  hundred  mile 
march  to  Canada.     We  watched  them  in  silence 

13 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

as  they  climbed  the  hill  and  were  swallowed  up 
in  the  gloom  of  the  woods. 

It  was  with  relief  that  we  saw  that  the  next 
scene  was  not  to  be  another  such  a  desolate  one, 
although  it  did  afford  food  for  speculation. 
Here  was  Eunice  Williams,  a  child  no  longer. 
She  was  dressed  in  Indian  garb  and  was  called  by 
an  Iroquois  name  that  meant,  "  they  took  her  and 
made  her  a  member  of  their  tribe,"  and  neither 
prayer  nor  threat  could  ever  procure  her  ransom. 
She  married  an  Indian  and  died  —  an  Indian! 

In  contrast  to  this  was  an  episode  showing 
Jonathan  Hoyt,  another  captive,  redeemed  from 
the  market  in  Quebec  where,  overlooked  by  his 
Indian  master,  he  was  selling  vegetables.  When 
the  Indian  had  taken  the  twenty  silver  dollars 
which  Governor  Dudley's  son,  then  on  a  mission 
to  redeem  captives,  gave  to  him,  Jonathan  Hoyt's 
safety  seemed  assured.  There  was  a  dramatic 
moment,  however,  when  the  Indian  was  seen  to  re- 
gret his  bargain.  He  started  to  follow  but  he 
was  too  late  and  came  back  —  alone. 

To  those  who  had  puzzled  over  the  translation 
of  a  church  record  or  over  the  story,  telling  how 
two  captives  were  married  in  Canada  and  there 
renounced  their  nation,  wishing  to  live  as  savages 

14 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

with  the  Christian  Indians,  the  scene  of  their  mar- 
riage was  watched  with  great  interest. 

Then  there  came  a  pause,  and  in  an  impressive 
stillness,  a  solitary  rider  came  slowly  down  the 
hill.  It  was  John  Williams,  their  captured  min- 
ister, who  had  preached  to  them  since  1684,  and 
as  one  voice  the  Puritans  greeted  him  in  the  song 
"  Be  Thou,  O  God,  Exalted  High."  To  cele- 
brate the  return  of  their  pastor  they  joined  in  a 
service  of  praise  and  thanksgiving.  No  bell 
summoned  them.  They  came  at  the  call  of  the 
drum,  while  a  sentry  kept  a  sharp  outlook.  Men 
were  on  the  right,  women  were  on  the  left,  so 
placed  by  the  committee  who  "  dignifie  and  seat 
the  meeting-house."  The  deacon  read  out  a  line 
of  "  Old  Hundred  "  and  the  people  sang  it,  but 
already  the  rising  generation  could  be  felt  in 
the  compromise  that  was  made  when  they 
sang,  "  Jerusalem,  My  Happy  Home,"  by 
"  rule." 

After  such  stormy  times,  a  scene  showing  the 
Indians  trading  with  the  villagers  rather  than 
massacring  them  or  capturing  them  was  a  happy 
one,  although  we  did  not  quite  trust  the  dusky 
squaws  gliding  Into  the  doorway  with  their  mats 
and  baskets,  hoping  for  some  return,  or  the  hunt- 

15 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

ers  bringing  their  spoils  upon  their  shoulders  to 
exchange  for  tobacco  and  powder. 

In  "  A  Colonial  Wedding,"  Scene  IX  of  the 
pageant,  there  was  a  glimpse  of  the  brilliance  of 
colonial  times.  It  was  the  marriage  of  James 
Corse  of  Deerfield,  the  landlord  of  a  tavern. 
Better  times  had  come  now.  Some  of  the  grim- 
ness  of  battle  and  defeat  had  given  place  to  show 
and  pomp.  The  guests  came  on  foot  and  on  pil- 
lioned  horses;  in  chaise  and  in  coach;  came  from 
far  and  near,  to  join  in  the  wedding  feast  and 
dance.  They  were  dressed  In  silks  and  brocades 
and  all  the  flavor  of  the  times  was  vivified  in  the 
dance  led  by  the  bride  and  bridegroom  in  the  gar- 
den with  its  old-fashioned  flowers  throwing  out 
their  fragrance. 

As  one  walks  down  the  one  street  of  Old  Deer- 
field,  one  comes  upon  a  bowlder  and  on  it  reads 
that  it  marks  the  spot  where  the  liberty  pole  was 
planted  July  29,  1774.  This  was  not  done  with- 
out opposition,  for  it  is  written  about  the  first  pole 
brought  for  the  purpose,  that,  "  By  some  Mali- 
cious Person,  Inimical  to  his  Country  ye  s^  Pole 
was  sawn  in  sunder."  Yes,  there  were  Tories  at 
Deerfield,  true  Tories.  When  the  order  to  drink 
no  tea  came,  they  resisted  It.     The  parson,  the 

16 


THE  PIOxXEER  FESTIVAL 

judge,  and  esquire,  the  three  doctors,  most  of  the 
town  officers,  and  many  others  would  not  give  up 
their  tea.     But  It  was  difficult  to  secure  it. 

As  the  people  gathered  In  Scene  XI,  "  Parson 
Ashley's  Tea  Party,"  it  could  be  seen  by  their  air 
that  this  was  no  common  tea  party.  The  stage- 
coach In  all  Its  splendor  brought  some  of  the 
guests  In  their  most  gorgeous  attire.  They 
spiritedly  greeted  the  Loyalist  and  his  package 
marked  "  Monongahela  Balsam,"  and  they  defi- 
antly drank  the  tea  which  it  contained.  And 
when  they  joined  in  the  minuet  it  was  with  a 
special  dignity  as  if  by  so  doing  they  were  more 
strictly  adhering  to  the  old  country. 

The  Tories  were  care-free  and  confident, 
and  there  were  many  of  them,  but  when  on 
the  twentieth  of  April  the  galloping  messenger 
cried,  "  To  Arms !  Gage  has  fired  upon  the  peo- 
ple !  Minutemen  to  the  rescue !  Now  Is  the 
time,  Cambridge  the  place,"  there  were  fifty  men 
ready  with  Captain  Locke  and  Lieutenant  Joseph 
Stebblns  at  their  head  and  Justin  Hitchcock's  fife 
to  keep  them  In  step.  In  this  final  scene  of  the 
pageant  it  was  keenly  felt  that  here  was  some  of 
the  backbone  that  made  this  country  a  nation,  and 
in  the  tableau  that  followed  —  the  Grand  Army 

17 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

of  the  Republic  saluting  the  flag  —  it  was  fur- 
ther impressed  that  by  such  as  these  was  the  na- 
tion preserved.  And  the  reason  for  the  nation's 
strength  was  more  clearly  understood  after  wit- 
nessing the  scenes  depicting  through  what  vicissi- 
tudes and  courage  it  had  grown. 

In  towns  and  cities  of  late  years  there  has  been 
a  great  tendency  toward  "  Street  Fair  Weeks  " 
and  "  Homecoming  Weeks  "  as  municipal  activi- 
ties and  celebrations.  They  have  taken  the  place 
of  the  county  fair  with  its  displays  and  side  shows 
and  merry-go-rounds,  now,  for  industrial  reasons, 
almost  unknown.  Usually  these  celebrations  are 
incited  and  financed  by  the  town's  chamber  of 
commerce  or  some  similar  body  and  are  largely 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  money  into  the  city. 
Sometimes  their  by-products,  as  in  the  renewal 
of  old  ties  and  the  new  vision  of  old  times,  are 
of  value.  But  the  celebration  Itself  is  usually 
pretty  bad,  having  no  points  of  central  interest,  no 
outlook,  and  no  perspective  other  than  commer- 
cial. The  Historical  Pageant  at  Deerfield,  it  will 
be  seen  at  once,  was  quite  different.  Here,  the 
by-product  was  money,  and  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  that,  too,  running  into  four  figures  —  but  the 
product  itself  was  of  a  finer  brilliance  and  left 

i8 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

something   of   a    wondrous   light   shining    on    all 
within  the  village. 

For  those  communities  that  may  desire  to  give 
a  municipal  festival  of  this  kind,  some  of  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Deerfield  Pageant  may  be  of 
value.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  the  Mistress 
of  the  Pageant,  who  overlooked  and  directed  all 
arrangements.  The  Patrons  and  Patronesses  in- 
cluded the  Governor  of  the  State  and  other  people 
of  note.  The  people  were  divided  into  Commit- 
tees of  the  Pageant.  There  was  an  Executive 
Committee,  an  Historical  Censor,  an  Advertising 
Committee,  the  Music  Committee,  a  Costume 
Committee,  the  Property  Committee,  the  Commit- 
tee on  Grounds,  a  Committee  on  Seats,  a  Com- 
mittee in  Charge  of  Horses,  and  a  Committee  in 
Charge  of  Oxen.  Announcements  were  printed 
and  sent  all  over  the  State  and  distributed  in  the 
hotels  and  other  public  places.  Arrangements  to 
postpone  the  pageant  should  the  weather  be  stormy 
or  uncertain  were  made  known.  In  planning  for 
the  programmes  advertisements  were  solicited, 
most  of  which  were  paid  for  In  advance,  thus  tak- 
ing care  of  the  Initial  expense.  Some  of  the  mer- 
chants In  Greenfield  —  situated  about  three  miles 
distant  —  were   asked  to   contribute  part   of  the 

19 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

necessary  material,  for  as  there  were  no  merchants 
in  Deerfield,  they  would  profit  by  the  pageant.  A 
lumber  company,  for  instance,  loaned  material  for 
making  the  benches,  on  the  understanding  that 
only  that  which  was  spoiled  by  nails  need  be  paid 
for.  Of  course  everybody  was  willing  and  glad 
to  give  of  his  time,  even  when  he  had  little,  and 
most  of  the  women  made  their  costumes  while 
those  for  the  men  were  hired  from  a  firm  in 
Boston. 

Having  a  committee  of  one  or  more  in  each 
scene,  who  should  take  part  in  that  scene,  conduct 
rehearsals,  find  and  look  after  properties,  and  in 
general  be  responsible  for  the  scene  (directed  of 
course  by  the  director  of  the  pageant),  simplified 
things  very  materially.  It  is  quite  surprising  that 
a  big  festival  and  pageant  of  this  sort,  involving 
many  people,  can  be  carried  on  with  compara- 
tively little  difficulty  by  working  with  units.  Thus 
each  scene  can  be  rehearsed  and  completed  by 
itself,  and  so  is  fairly  simple.  Then,  if  the  direc- 
tor is  competent,  as  Miss  Eager  of  Deerfield  was, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  rehearsal  of  all  scenes 
together  more  than  once,  and  sometimes  not  at 
all.     So,  by  this  comparatively  simple  organiza- 

20 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

tion,   was   effected   the   Old   Deerfield   Historical 
Pageant. 

Pollie  thought  much  better  of  her  ancestors 
after  this  pageant.  She  understood  them  better 
for  she  had  lived  with  them  for  a  while  and  dur- 
ing that  time  she  was  able,  not  only  to  interpret 
them  to  herself  and  to  other  people,  but  to  express 
some  of  her  own  powers.  Now  the  case  of  Pol- 
lie  is  but  the  case  of  a  healthy,  normal  being  re- 
belling against  conditions  that  prevail  in  many  of 
our  smaller  eastern  towns;  those  towns  that  main- 
tain their  existence  by  the  memories  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  past  rather  than  by  any  industrial  ac- 
tivity of  to-day.  Because  such  towns  fought  and 
bled  in  woe  and  desolation  that  those  who  came 
after  might  have  life  and  have  it  more  abundantly, 
they  stand  ever  as  monuments.  In  the  days  when 
each  family  constituted  an  industrial  system  of  its 
own,  when  the  needs  of  life  —  food,  clothing, 
and  shelter  —  could  be  supplied  by  following  na- 
tive Instincts  and  so  fulfilling  spiritual  as  well  as 
material  needs,  these  towns  were  very  much  alive. 
Had  Pollie  lived  then  she  would  probably  have 
gone  quietly  through  her  days,  satisfied  because 
she  was  "  doing  "  something.     But  the  man  and 

21 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

woman  of  to-day  is  attracted  to  Deerfield  be- 
cause of  its  ancient  elms  and  purple  hills  and 
weather-beaten  houses  dignified  by  the  memories 
of  a  famous  past.  There  is  little  present  or  fu- 
ture there  now.  The  spinning  and  the  weaving 
are  done  elsewhere.  Factories  in  other  cities  have 
taken  away  all  the  mechanical  industries,  and  the 
person  who  is  alive,  as  Pollie  says,  leaves  if  it  is 
possible,  before  he  dries  up  and  dies.  Deerfield 
is  not  an  isolated  example  of  this  tragedy.  In 
every  section  of  the  country  are  deserted  villages 
that  once  were  the  center  of  throbbing  life. 

In  a  gallery  in  London  is  a  picture  by  Turner 
called  "  The  Great  Western  Express."  At- 
tracted by  the  name  (for  it  is  hardly  a  name  we 
would  choose  ourselves  for  a  picture),  we  look 
more  closely.  First  we  are  conscious  of  color  — 
the  color  of  forces  —  but  forces  disturbed,  forces 
in  a  cataclysm;  and  then  as  we  go  nearer  in  the 
midst  of  the  color  we  see  the  cause  of  it  all  — 
the  engine  —  the  Great  Western  Express  — 
Civilization  —  throbbing  through  the  wilderness, 
violently  subverting  all  conditions.  In  the  track 
of  this  overwhelming  change  are  left  many  de- 
serted villages,  which,  like  Deerfield,  may  attract 
the  students  of  history  but  not  Pollie. 

22 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

No  wonder  she  hated  those  "  anniversaries  in 
honor  of  our  patriots."  They  were  nothing  but 
stupid  programmes  of  orations,  essays,  history; 
all  dead,  all  drudgery,  all  about  people  who  did 
something  while  she  could  do  nothing  but  talk 
about  them.  Unfortunately,  this  is  usually  the 
kind  of  programme  that  we  arrange  in  "  honor  of 
our  patriots."  Washington's  Birthday  is  gener- 
ally celebrated  by  exercises  in  which  are  number- 
less essays  on  George  Washington  and  his  every 
attribute,  true  or  imagined,  until  he  seems  to 
be  nothing  but  a  puppet,  dragged  hither  and  yon 
by  the  cords  which  we  have  arranged  for  our 
show.  A  man,  a  human  being,  he  seldom  is. 
With  glad  hearts  we  turn  our  backs  on  the  father 
of  our  country  and  go  out  to  play,  thanking  him, 
not  because  he  saved  our  country  (he  never  was 
made  that  real  to  us),  but  because  he  gave  us  a 
holiday  for  play.  On  Abraham  Lincoln's  birth- 
day, we  frequently  see,  in  a  school,  a  picture 
tacked  up  on  the  blackboard,  a  few  rolls  of  bunt- 
ing twisted  around  it  and  the  dates  of  his  birth  and 
death  on  either  side,  and  I  ask  you,  can  you  think 
of  two  more  uninteresting  dates  in  the  life  of  any 
person  than  those  of  his  death  and  birth?  There 
is  little  or  no  spirit  in  these  celebrations;  there  is 

23 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

little  or  no  meaning.  Holidays  are  not  made  in 
that  fashion.  We  have  certain  days  set  apart  for 
celebration  but  we  don't  know  how  to  celebrate 
them.  What  do  George  Washington's  birthday, 
Abraham  Lincoln's  birthday,  Memorial  Day,  and 
the  Fourth  of  July  mean  to  us?  Do  they  incul- 
cate any  more  patriotism?  Do  they  make  any 
more  vivid  to  us  the  people  or  the  events  that 
mark  them  as  mountain  peaks  in  the  history  of  our 
nation? 

Perhaps  the  reason  for  this  Is  a  fundamental 
error  in  our  national  life.  We  do  too  many 
things  vicariously.  We  can  never  really  know  a 
thing  until  we  do  it  or  act  on  it.  Since  the  in- 
vention of  printing  we  have  a  great  fund  of  infor- 
mation constantly  before  us.  We  analyze,  we 
discuss,  we  argue  and  we  cogitate,  but,  I  repeat, 
until  we  do  a  thing  or  act  on  it,  we  do  not  know 
It.  In  many  things  we  hark  back  to  the  Middle 
Ages  when  observation  and  Investigation  came  to 
a  standstill,  and  science  was  taught  from  the  desk. 
There  was  much  contentious  writing  and  debating 
appertaining  to  the  number  of  teeth  of  the  horse 
and  nobody  seemed  to  think  of  the  very  simple  ex- 
pedient of  actually  counting  the  teeth  of  a  horse. 
We  learn  things  that  are  In  books,  we  Investigate 

24 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

when  we  can  do  It  in  a  library,  but  we  will  seldom 
count  the  teeth  of  the  horse  ourselves.  The  re- 
sult is  that  we  have  many  dreamers  and  few  doers 
in  anything  except  commercial  progress. 

Now  the  need  of "  doing  something "  is  a 
human  hunger.  "  We  are  made  In  order  to  act 
as  much  as  and  more  than  in  order  to  think  —  or 
rather  when  we  follow  the  bent  of  our  nature,  it 
is  in  order  to  act  that  we  think,"  says  Bergson. 
The  trouble  with  us  In  this  over-civilized  day  is 
that  we  don't  follow  the  bent  of  our  nature.  We 
take  our  play  and  our  activities  vicariously. 

In  one  of  our  great  state  universities  Is  a  pro- 
fessor of  economics  who  spends  most  of  his  time 
in  his  classroom  teaching,  or  in  his  library  study- 
ing. His  recreation,  his  play,  he  gets  by  reading 
detective  stories  —  as  many  as  twenty  a  week  — 
and  the  more  bloodthirsty  they  are,  the  more  they 
scream  and  shriek,  the  better  is  he  satisfied.  He 
is  a  small,  rather  meek-eyed,  quiet  little  professor 
and  one  doesn't  suspect  him  of  criminal  inclina- 
tions; but  not  being  able  to  feed  this  hunger  by 
doing  something  active  himself  he  feeds  It  through 
the  Incessant  doings  of  detective  stories. 

Perhaps  the  primary  function  in  the  Deerfield 
Pageant  and  Festival  was  to  allow  the  inhabitants 

25 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

who  had  been  basking  in  the  light  of  their  an- 
cestors' "  doing  "  to  step  out  into  the  light  of  their 
own  doing,  and  to  fulfill  the  bent  of  their  own 
natures.  So,  through  this  festival  they  came  into 
fuller  life  themselves  and  built  surer  foundations 
for  the  future  of  their  village,  because  they 
formed  a  conception  of  what  their  past  was  by 
getting  inside  of  it  and  seeing  how  it  felt.  This 
is  just  what  a  child  does  when  he  plays  his  game, 
and  imitates  his  elders.  He  gets  inside  of  them, 
sees  how  it  feels  himself,  and  so  he  grows;  and 
when  the  time  comes  for  him  to  be  a  hunter  or  a 
soldier  or  any  of  the  other  personages  with  which 
he  fills  his  day,  he  is  ready  for  it.  Surely,  it  is 
as  necessary  to  do  this  in  order  to  untie  the  knot 
of  the  great  national  drama  which  we  are  acting 
on  the  stage  of  our  country  as  it  is  in  order  to  be 
the  Macbeth  and  King  Lear  or  Hamlet  of  the 
great  Shakespearian  stage.  And  to  live  in  the 
personages  and  events  of  this  festival,  not  only 
thinking  about  them,  or  feeling  concerning  them, 
but  thinking  them,  feeling  them,  aye,  living  them, 
would  mean  much  more  to  these  people,  would  en- 
able them,  as  a  community,  to  adapt  themselves 
much  more  wisely,  than  months  and  years  of  ora- 
tions and  prayers  and  essays. 

26 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

On  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  the  town 
held  a  celebration.  In  a  series  of  dramatic  pic- 
tures they  illustrated  the  period  before  the  white 
man  came  as  well  as  that  after.  In  one  picture, 
the  "  Last  of  the  Mohicans,"  who  live  in  their 
own  settlement  near  Norwich,  showed  in  some 
typical  dances  and  ceremonies  what  the  region  was 
like  before  the  white  man  came.  Then  there  was 
a  scene  picturing  the  story  of  the  feud  between  the 
Mohicans  and  Narragansetts,  ending  in  the  battle 
of  East  Great  Plain.  The  scene  shifted,  and 
George  Washington  and  his  soldiers  trooped 
across  the  stage.  Finally,  the  Boys  of  '6i  — 
members  of  the  local  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
pubHc  —  marched  off  to  the  Civil  War.  Per- 
haps the  most  significant  part  of  this  commemora- 
tive festival  was  the  pageant  or  procession  to 
which  each  of  the  foreign  colonies  contributed  a 
float,  thus  weaving  the  foreign  threads  into  one 
mighty  American  knot. 

Before  "  The  Great  Western  Express  " —  or 
call  it  Civilization  —  fought  its  cataclysmic  way 
through  our  hitherto  interminable  distances,  only 
Indian  trails,  threads  tangled  and  broken,  united 
the  East  and  the  West.     Here  and  there  a  rough 

27 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

pioneer  road  was  hewn  out,  working  great  politi- 
cal and  commercial  changes  along  its  highway. 
But  in  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  ap- 
peared a  road  "  different  from  the  others  in  its 
masterful  suggestion  of  a  serious  purpose,  speed- 
ing you  along  with  a  strange  uplifting  of  the 
heart."  It  was  of  a  sterner  sort,  this  first  Na- 
tional road  that  America  ever  built,  legally  known 
as  the  Cumberland  Road.  Down  it  with  our 
pioneers  rode  our  national  hopes,  for  these  tillers 
of  the  ground  bore  in  their  hands  not  swords,  but 
axes  and  hoes,  and  without  these  pioneers  we 
would  not  exist  as  a  nation  to-day.  It  takes  more 
than  a  sword  to  win  the  war;  it  takes  the  com- 
pelling force  and  resistance  of  this  pioneer  army 
to  win  the  struggle  and  war  of  extermination. 
And  this  army  does  not  march  to  the  blood-stir- 
ring music  of  battle;  no  flags  are  unfurled  before 
its  ranks.  Humbly  and  unrecognized  it  wins  its 
battles;  its  life,  the  details  of  its  everyday  exist- 
ence, are  often  commonplace;  its  great  events  fre- 
quently buried  in  obscurity.  But  without  this 
army,  England  and  France  lost  the  country;  and 
with  It,  and  because  of  it,  we  stand  to-day  united 
as  a  nation  and  have  not  perished  from  the  earth. 
The  milestones  on  the  old  Cumberland  Road  are 

28 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

tottering;  the  taverns  are  deserted,  and  not  even 
a  wreath  Is  seen  on  the  half-forgotten  graves  by 
Its  waysides.  And  yet  down  It,  on  their  way  Into 
the  unbroken  jungle,  went  many  of  our  pioneers. 
With  them  walked  Courage  In  his  gay  and  bril- 
liant trappings,  and  In  more  somber  hue,  En- 
durance, hand  In  hand  with  Resolution,  and  lead- 
ing all  the  rest  were  Hope  and  Power.  In  the 
hands  of  the  women  were  flowers,  for  a  pioneer 
woman  never  forgot  the  seeds  of  her  hollyhocks 
and  the  bulbs  of  her  pinks,  and  If  the  wilderness 
has  blossomed  like  the  rose  for  us.  It  Is  because 
these  women.  In  their  hearts  and  In  their  hands, 
bore  a  few  pink  roots  and  a  few  hollyhock  seeds. 
The  journey  on  that  Pioneer  Road  was  made 
not  so  many  years  ago,  for  when  we.  In  the  West, 
travel  back  one  hundred  years,  we  come  to  the 
unbroken  trail  of  the  Indian.  In  no  other  nation 
have  we  a  tradition  so  unique.  We  are  living 
with  our  pioneers.  We  do  not  have  to  go  back 
twenty-seven  hundred  years,  as  did  the  people  of 
Bath,  England,  In  their  pageant,  to  meet  our 
founders.  Some  of  them  sit  on  our  doorsteps. 
They  are  perishing  by  our  fireplaces  and  not  per- 
ishing in  the  light  of  day.  There  are  so  many 
things  we  must  learn  of  them,  so  little  time  for 

29 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

them  to  tell  us,  and  we  are  letting  that  little  slip 
by.  We  push  them  into  the  corners;  they  are 
rough,  they  are  crude,  they  are  —  well,  they  are 
"  Pioneers,"  we  say  when  we  are  ashamed  of  our 
grandfathers.  But,  as  Napoleon  says,  "  War 
cannot  be  made  with  rosewater."  To  build  a 
home,  to  sustain  a  home,  to  be  a  part  of  the  great 
movement  of  life,  surely  is  not  an  ignoble  attain- 
ment. They  have  cleared  the  way  for  the 
younger  generation;  they  have  experienced  a  life 
that  we  can  know  only  through  them.  When 
the  mantle  of  labor  falls  from  them  they  take 
their  place  by  the  fire,  asking  no  alms  and  I  am 
afraid  receiving  few.  The  more  shame  to  us  that 
we  do  not  crown  them  with  laurel  and  sit  at  their 
knees  with  bowed  and  reverent  heads  for  they 
are  the  Prophets  and  only  through  them  can  we 
see  the  future. 

A  children's  pioneer  festival 

Like  Pollie,  the  girls  and  boys  in  a  schoolroom 
in  a  small  town  in  the  southern  part  of  Michigan, 
had  grown  tired  of  their  "  exercises."  "  We 
don't  want  to  learn  any  more  pieces,"  they  said. 
And  nothing  that  the  teacher  suggested  could 
arouse    them.     About   this   time   there   was   of- 

30 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

fered  In  the  Extension  Department  of  a  Normal 
school,  a  Course  on  Festivals,  and  the  teacher, 
driven  by  her  need,  entered  it.  The  work  on  the 
pioneers  was  particularly  stimulating  to  her,  for 
she  thought  of  this  little  town  asleep  by  the  great 
sand  dunes  of  Lake  Michigan;  asleep,  that  Is,  to 
everything  except  the  call  of  money.  There  was 
no  community  life  there.  The  only  centers  were 
the  post  office  and  the  drug  stores.  The  young 
people  didn't  know  the  old  people  and  considered 
them  *'  old-foggylsh  "  and  "  old-fashioned."  The 
old  people  shook  their  heads  over  the  young  peo- 
ple, and  said,  "  In  our  days  they  didn't  do  so." 
Here  was  a  barren  field  in  which  to  sow  the  seeds 
of  a  pioneer  festival;  so  she  went  back  to  her  pu- 
pils. "  Do  you  know  how  this  town  was  set- 
tled?" she  asked  of  them.  They  looked  at  her 
in  surprise  and  not  one  could  answer.  "  Do  you 
know  anything  about  the  Indians  who  lived  here 
before  the  white  men  came?"  "Indians?" 
And  the  little  "  witching  "  boy  in  the  front  seat 
looked  up.  "  Were  there  Indians  here  In  this 
town?  " 

"  Well,    suppose   we    find   out,"   answered   the 
teacher. 

"  Sure,  but  where  can  we  find  out?  " 
31 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

"Where  do  you  think?" 

"Will  it  have  to  be  from  books?"  asked  an- 
other boy  fretfully. 

"  No,  I  think  not,"  and  the  teacher  smiled. 

"Humph,  I'll  ask  my  grandad;  I  bet  he'll 
know,"  volunteered  the  first  little  boy. 

"  Then,  to-morrow,  in  our  history  class,  we'll 
talk  about  the  Indians  who  lived  here  and  the  first 
white  men  who  settled  in  this  place  and  who  built 
up  our  town,"  was  the  history  lesson  assigned  by 
the  teacher. 

That  night  around  the  fireplaces  and  at  supper 
tables  questions  hurried  thick  and  fast  from  the 
young  to  the  old.  The  mother  of  the  "  witch- 
ing "  boy,  unable  to  answer  these  questions  and 
unable  to  stop  them,  said  to  her  son,  "  Go  ask 
Aunt  Hetty  who  lives  on  the  corner;  I  think  she 
has  lived  in  the  town  since  the  time  it  began." 

"  Oh,  no,  I'm  afraid  of  Aunt  Hetty  —  she's  too 
old." 

"  All  the  more  reason  that  she  can  tell  you,  my 
dear." 

The  little  boy  thought  a  while.  He  did  want 
to  know  about  those  Indians.  He  went  outdoors 
and  looked  wistfully  across  at  the  little  cabin  where 
Aunt    Hetty    lived.     It    was    old    and    weather- 

32 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

beaten  and  looked  as  If  it  might  have  seen  war 
councils  itself.  But  no  one  knew  Aunt  Hetty 
very  well.  She  lived  here  with  her  dog  and  cat. 
She  had  no  children;  she  seemed  to  have  few 
friends.  She  was  the  last  of  her  time.  The  lit- 
tle boy  walked  slowly  over  to  the  corner,  leaned 
across  the  fence,  and  looked  longingly  at  the  door. 
Suddenly  another  boy  from  the  same  school 
turned  the  corner.  "  Say,"  and  the  "  witching  " 
youth  beckoned  his  friend,  "  do  you  think  she 
could  tell  us  about  the  Indians?  "  And  he  nodded 
his  head  toward  the  forbidding  house.  After  a 
consultation  they  stalked  bravely  in.  It  was  a 
half  hour  before  they  came  out  again  and  they 
had  had  a  good  time,  one  knew  by  their  faces. 

"  Gee,  ain't  she  great!  " 

The  next  morning  there  was  an  expectant  stir 
in  the  school.  Whispers  of  Aunt  Hetty  and  In- 
dians floated  around  the  cloakroom.  They  were 
ready  to  recite  on  their  history  the  minute  the 
clock  struck  the  period.  There  was  only  one  dif- 
ficulty; both  of  the  boys  wanted  to  talk  at  once. 
When  this  was  arranged  it  all  came  out.  Why, 
John  Robins  and  his  wife  had  brought  an  Indian 
with  them  when  they  came  down  the  small  river 
in  a  boat.     The  Indian  had  come  with  them  all 

33 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  way  just  to  make  peace  with  the  other  Indians 
so  that  they  wouldn't  have  their  scalps  taken. 
And  it  was  a  good  thing,  too,  because  there  were 
a  lot  of  Indians  hiding  behind  the  trees  and  they 
didn't  know  whether  to  kill  the  white  man  or  to 
smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  with  him.  But  they 
made  a  fire  on  the  bank,  John  Robins  and  the 
Indian  —  right  over  there  on  that  bank  where  the 
old  mill  stood.  You  can  nearly  see  the  place 
from  here ;  and  they  cooked  their  supper  and  then 
the  Indians  came  out  from  behind  the  trees  and 
made  friends  with  them.  Aunt  Hetty  told  them 
all  about  it. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  enthusiasm  of  this  sort 
would  be  contagious.  Aunt  Hetty  was  quite  a 
different  personage  now  to  these  children.  They 
even  thought  that  they  could  persuade  her  to  come 
to  the  school  and  tell  them  about  it.  And  they 
did.  She  put  on  her  old  bonnet  in  honor  of  the 
occasion.  It  hadn't  been  out  of  her  trunk  for  a 
good  many  years,  for  a  shawl  had  served  to  pro- 
tect both  head  and  shoulders.  But  if  these  chil- 
dren wanted  to  know  something  about  former 
times,  the  dignity  of  the  past  had  been  retained, 
and  she  put  on  her  bonnet  and  went  up  to  the 
school.     So  one  link  in  the  broken  chain  between 

34 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

the  old  and  the  young  was  forged.  There  re- 
sulted a  period  of  the  renaissance  of  the  old  folks. 
Grandfathers  were  rescued  from  forgotten  cor- 
ners, and  grandmothers  told  their  stories  —  and 
true  ones  —  at  the  twilight  hour,  and  in  the 
school,  too,  for  that  became  the  meeting  place  for 
the^Pa.'i^  ^"d  the  Present.^  A  contagion  of  this 
sort  is  soon  carried  from  the  school  into  the 
home.  It  spread  rather  rapidly  from  there  into 
the  church  society  and  into  the  lodge.  Pioneer 
programmes  became  quite  the  fashion  of  the  day 
and  the  children,  from  these  programmes,  gained 
some  added  material.  But  to  them,  after  all,  re- 
mained the  glory.  They  weren't  going  to  give  a 
"  programme,"  they  announced,  in  a  superior  way. 
They  were  going  to  give  a  festival ! 

So  one  autumn  day  the  people  of  the  town 
gathered  on  the  bank  of  the  little  river,  and  you 
may  be  sure  all  the  grandfathers  and  grand- 
mothers were  there.  It  was  quite  like  the  days 
of  the  old  sewing  bee  and  singing  school.  They 
found  they  had  so  much  to  talk  about.  They 
weren't  "  dead  "  yet,  they  weren't  even  "  shelved," 
although  they  had  thought  they  were.  They  sat 
down  near  the  place  where  John  Robins  had 
landed.     Now  the  town  was  across  the  river,  for 

35 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

it  had  been  moved  a  little  later.     It  looked  very 
beautiful  seen  through  the  tinted  foliage  of  the 
trees  and  the  bushes.     The  clocks  struck  and  a 
hush  fell  over  the  group.      Down  the  river  they 
saw  a  tiny  boat  coming.      In  one  end  stood  an  In- 
dian   as    if    guiding    it.      "  John    Robins,"    they 
whispered  among  themselves  and  they  moved  a 
little  to  make  way  for  the  boat  to  land.     The  In- 
dian looked  from  shore  to  shore  and  as  he  selected 
his  landing  place  and  stopped  the  boat  a  man  and 
a  woman  followed  him  on  to  the  shore.     Then 
Indians  could  be  seen  behind  the  trees,  watching 
and   making   signs.     John    Robins    and   his   wife 
followed    the    Indian    guide    up    the    bank    and 
helped   him   gather   some   wood   to   start   a   fire. 
As  they  sat  around  it,  the  Indians,  after  a  hasty 
council,   came   forward  with   signs   of  peace   and 
joined  them  around  the  fire.     From  the  motions 
and  gestures  the  audience  knew  that  the  pioneers 
were  asking  the  Indians  about  the  country,   and 
soon  they  picked  up  their  goods  and  followed  the 
lead  of  the  Indians  around  the  bend  of  the  river 
and  out  of  sight. 

The  people  on  the  bank  didn't  wait  to  be  told 
to  follow.  Aunt  Hetty  led  the  way,  and  by  mov- 
ing a  very  little  distance  they  could  see  the  land 

36 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

around  the  bend.  On  it  was  a  long  log  house  that 
the  children  themselv^es,  helped  a  very  little  by 
their  fathers,  had  erected.  And  even  as  they 
looked,  another  boat  appeared  around  the  bend 
of  the  river.  This  was  an  old-fashioned  rowboat 
and  in  it  were  three  white  men  with  their  fami- 
lies, Reverend  William  Prey,  Mr.  Hanson 
White,  and  their  friend  (neither  Aunt  Hetty  nor 
any  local  historian  knew  that  friend's  name). 
Out  of  the  log  house  John  Robins  and  his  family 
hurried  to  greet  the  new  pioneers,  and  when  they 
had  landed  they  fell  on  their  knees  and  led  by  their 
new  minister,  were  seen  to  offer  prayer  in  reverent 
silence.  Then,  singing  "  A  Safe  Stronghold  Our 
God  Is  Still,"  they  entered  the  old  cabin  to  hold 
their  first  religious  service.  So  was  the  first 
church  founded. 

In  the  third  scene  a  larger  boat  than  either  of 
the  others  came  down  the  river  and  landed  on 
the  opposite  bank.  The  earlier  settlers  then 
moved  across  the  river  to  live  with  the  new- 
comers. They  were  joined  by  a  band  of  Indians 
who  seemed  to  feel  also  the  meaning  of  this 
occasion,  signifying  it  in  their  own  way.  The 
chief  carried  a  long  pole,  and  was  followed  by 
an  Indian  with  a  tom-tom.     The  chief  held  the 

37 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

pole  in  an  upright  position  and  the  Indians  danced 
around  it  to  the  music  of  the  tom-tom  and  to  the 
approval  of  the  white  people  who  saw  in  this  cere- 
mony, peace  and  shelter  for  their  new  abode. 
The  last  scene  united  that  time  with  the  present 
and,  because  of  this  festival,  was  filled  with 
meaning.  Out  of  a  little  dwelling  on  the  bank 
came  the  school  teacher  ringing  a  small  hand  bell, 
and  the  children  running  from  their  homes,  en- 
tered the  school  with  more  alacrity  and  more  joy, 
one  fancied,  than  had  been  the  case  in  many  a 
year. 

Obviously,  this  festival  differed  from  the  Deer- 
field  Pageant  in  many  details,  particularly  in  its 
simplicity.  And  yet  its  results  were  far  spread- 
ing. They  were:  new  enthusiasm  in  the  school, 
new  bond  between  teacher  and  children,  and  be- 
tween grandparents  and  grandchildren.  History 
took  on  a  new  meaning,  and  in  the  very  place 
where  John  Robins  had  landed,  the  children 
brought  up  their  boat  and  with  their  Indian  guide 
started  the  fires  of  a  new  place.  There  is  some- 
thing very  impressive  when  we  live  again  the 
events,  sing  the  songs  or  speak  the  speech  that 
years  before  were  enacted  in  that  very  spot  by 
those  who  had  gone  before. 

38 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

Modern  education  is  returning  to  the  old 
methods  used  by  the  priests  —  the  methods  of  the 
MoraHty  and  Miracle  plays.  St.  Francis  of  As- 
sisi,  that  holy  man  of  the  thirteenth  century,  saw 
that  if  religion  was  to  be  made  democratic  it  must 
be  presented  vividly  to  the  people.  Only  so 
would  it  gain  a  hold  on  their  affections.  With 
faith  and  reverence  he  built  the  little  manger  of 
Bethlehem  in  his  church  that  the  people  might  see 
with  their  own  eyes  the  events  of  that  night  when 
the  Wise  Men,  guided  by  the  star,  found  the 
child  in  the  stable.  All  democratic  movements, 
in  order  to  be  forces,  must  be  vivid. 

The  mind  best  perceives  things  that  are  pic- 
tured. This  was  very  evident  after  the  festival 
in  that  little  Michigan  town.  All  history  be- 
came more  plastic.  The  children  could  see  its 
possibilities  and  how  it  could  be  made  real. 
School  meant  more.  This  is  not  an  attempt  to 
make  the  festival  a  panacea  for  all  municipal  and 
educational  ills;  but,  sometimes,  a  very  simple 
thing  that  we  perceive  and  do  ourselves  may 
change  our  attitude  of  mind  and  our  vision  in 
many  things. 

The  Pioneer  Festival  may  prove  that  there  is 
fellowship  and  understanding  for  us  among  our 

39 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

parents.  The  same  songs  are  chanted  in  our 
churches;  the  same  prayers  for  courage  and  en- 
durance are  offered  from  our  pulpits;  there  is  the 
same  play  of  the  sun  upon  the  waters  and  the  hills; 
and  as  of  old  the  Prophets  lead  forth  the  little 
children  in  whom  is  their  hope. 

There  is  little  tradition  in  America.  We  have 
had  no  jongleurs,  no  minnesingers,  to  sit  under  the 
greenwood  tree  and  tell  us  stories  and  legends  of 
our  town  or  of  our  country-green.  We  have 
been  too  busy  hewing  out  the  stone  to  build  our 
dwellings  and  thinking  out  systems  whereby  we  can 
get  more  efficiency  out  of  human  machines. 
Then,  too,  we  have  been  a  migrating  people  and 
we  couldn't  halt  every  generation  to  find  out  or 
set  up  a  few  traditions.  A  man  who  was  born 
and  lived  and  married  and  died  in  the  same  town 
is  a  sort  of  American  miracle  —  a  reversal  of 
American  nature.  No,  we  will  go  to  Europe  for 
our  traditions,  we  think,  and  there  visit  the  castles 
and  cathedrals  that  were  potent  forces  in  civiliza- 
tion. Yes,  when  we  get  through  making  our 
money,  we  will  find  out  something  about  tradi- 
tions —  in  Europe.  But  we  must  have  traditions 
here,  or  rather  we  must  preserve  those  that  we 
have.     John   Robins  was  a   compelling  figure  in 

40 


THE  PIONEER  FESTIVAL 

this  little  town  which  he  founded,  and  I  fancy  that 
he,  and  what  the  people  have  made  him  stand  for, 
will  be  more  dominating  as  the  years  go  by.  For 
tradition  is  a  flower,  the  buds  of  which  we  some- 
times crush  but  whose  fragrance  Is  our  Inspira- 
tion. 

The  Pioneer  Festival  In  helping  to  establish 
both  national  and  local  traditions  Is  planting  the 
seed  of  this  flower.  For  these  traditions,  like 
those  of  old,  must  be  transmitted  —  not  from  mu- 
seum to  museum,  but  from  Individual  to  individual 
and  so  live  where  our  nation  lives.  In  the  hearts 
of  the  people. 


41 


PART  II 
Ube  Spirit  of  tbe  ifesta 

THE  pageant  preceding  the  festival  was 
about  to  start,  after  an  Impatient  and  Ill- 
tempered  wait;  for  Peace  who  stood  ma- 
jestically at  the  head  did  not  rule  over  her  sub- 
jects. 

Queen  Elizabeth  was  In  a  bad  temper.  Her 
ruff  hurt  her  neck,  and  Sir  Walter  had  lost  his 
coat.  After  a  "  snappish  "  dialogue  between  him 
and  the  "  manager,"  the  queen  agreed  that  it 
made  no  difference  for  she  was  tired  of  the  whole 
thing  and  would  be  glad  when  it  was  over.  She 
had  notions  of  her  own  how  Queen  Elizabeth 
would  have  conducted  herself  and  what  she  would 
have  said  on  such  an  occasion.  But  the  manager 
had  Ignored  them,  as  well  as  her,  merely  giving 
her  a  printed  slip  with  her  instructions  and  her 
"  part  "  written  thereon.     Hence  her  rage. 

The  Roman  soldiers  complained  that  their 
armor  was  too  heavy  and  they  couldn't  walk. 

42 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

Shakespeare  looked  as  if  he  would  gladly  "  fall 
on  the  other  side." 

Beau    Nash   had    forgotten   his    rules    of   con- 
duct. 

But  what  could  be  expected  from  a  "  man- 
ager "  who  came  from  no  one  knew  where  —  and 
was  going,  no  one  knew  whither.  He  had  spent 
several  days  in  their  neighborhood  —  had  gone 
away  —  had  returned  in  a  few  weeks  with  the  his- 
torical pageant  and  festival,  depicting  the  history 
of  this  part  of  England,  In  his  hands  —  had  as- 
signed parts  —  and  had  applied  only  his  ideas, 
allowing  the  people  to  be  nothing  but  "  dumb 
show,"  and  demanding  of  them,  enthusiasm. 
Many  of  them  desired  "  not  to  be,"  but  because 
conscience  did  make  cowards  of  them  all,  here 
they  were  —  for  the  purpose  of  lending  glory  to 
their  city  and  country,  which,  thanks  to  the  man- 
ager, they  now  almost  hated. 

Just  as  the  pageant  was  ordered  to  advance,  a 
halt  was  called.  Frantically  the  manager  rushed 
up  and  down.  Appius  Claudius  was  missing. 
Messengers  were  sent  in  every  direction.  One, 
leaping  around  the  Pageant  House,  nearly  fell 
over  a  disheveled  figure  impatiently  searching  in 
the  grass  for  some  lost  object.     His  costume  was 

43 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

torn,  his  face  was  muddy,  his  sword  was  broken, 
and  he  seemed  most  forlorn. 

"Are  you  Appius  Claudius?"  desperately  de- 
manded the  messenger. 

"  No,"  groaned  the  figure,  "  un'appy  as  'ell." 

The  man  who  was  not  Appius  Claudius  but 
un'appy  as  'ell  expressed  not  only  the  feelings  of 
the  people  in  the  pageant  but  the  spirit  of  it  as 
well.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  benefits  of  such  a 
festival  would  be  very  minor  either  to  spectators 
or  to  participants.  For,  following  the  old  time 
principle  that  "  joy  begets  joy,"  the  chief  benefit 
and  the  greatest  joy  must  be  ever  with  those  who 
take  part,  and  must  radiate  from  them  to  the  spec- 
tators. 

The  term,  pageant,  was  originally  used  in  Eng- 
land to  designate  those  movable  platforms  that 
served  as  a  stage  for  the  play.  From  that  it  came 
to  be  applied  to  the  play  itself.  A  pageant,  in 
the  sense  in  which  it  is  commonly  used,  since  its 
present  day  revival,  is  either  the  representation 
of  a  series  of  scenes  or  episodes,  usually  connected 
with  the  particular  locality  in  which  the  perform- 
ance takes  place:  or  It  is  a  spectacular  and  cere- 
monial procession,  typifying  some  period  or  event, 
or  series  of  events. 

44 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

The  word,  festival,  comes  from  the  Latin, 
festinn;  festal  days  being  opposed  to  ferrial  days 
or  week  days  which  are  not  fast  days  or  feast 
days.  In  France  we  have  the  fete,  in  Italy  the 
festa  and  in  Germany  the  fest. 

There  is  in  existence  a  programme  of  the 
Greek  Isthmian  Festival  given  in  582  B.  C, 
which  included  horse  races,  games,  and  musical 
compositions.  It  is  a  very  ancient  custom  dating 
from  mythological  times  to  celebrate  the  funeral 
of  a  chieftain  or  a  hero  with  a  feast  and  games 
and  ceremonies.  Savage  tribes,  too,  have  their 
festivals,  expressed  in  sports  and  dancing.  By 
festival,  then,  we  mean  those  occasions,  the  ex- 
pression of  which  is  a  folk  expression,  whether  in 
music  or  drama  or  dancing  or  games.  In  Bay- 
reuth  is  held  regularly  a  Wagner  Festival.  A 
keen  national  feeling  centers  around  these  operas 
which  Wagner  has  evolved  out  of  the  old  folk 
tales,  the  expression  of  old  folk  beliefs  and  wor- 
ship and  poetry  and  beauty.  At  Oberammergau 
is  a  folk  drama,  a  religious  festival.  The  story 
of  the  Passion  presented  in  a  folk  play  acted  by 
the  Oberammergau  villagers  Is  their  most  rever- 
ent expression  of  their  inherent  religion. 

Before  drama,  however,  before  musical  compo- 
45 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

sition,  was  dancing  or  rhythm.  This  was  usually 
the  first  group  expression.  Sometimes  it  mani- 
fested merely  joy  in  motion;  sometimes  it  indi- 
cated the  drama  of  everyday  existence,  hunting, 
fishing,  loving,  hating  and  killing;  sometimes  it 
expressed  their  religion,  their  reverence  to  the 
sun  or  to  the  earth,  or  to  their  gods.  This  very 
easily  grew  into  drama  as  can  be  readily  per- 
ceived. And  so  the  elements  of  a  festival  are 
simply  those  folk  elements  of  a  dance  or  rhythm, 
of  song,  games,  and  folk  plays.  And  it  is  so  es- 
sentially a  folk  expression,  an  expression  of  the 
people,  of  all  the  people,  that  the  spectators 
themselves,    paradoxically,   become   participants. 

Of  course  It  is  very  easy  to  combine  pageantry 
with  the  festival  and  very  effective,  most  festivals 
including  In  them  some  pageantry;  but  they  are 
after  all  essentially  different,  one  being  ceremoni- 
ous and  spectacular,  the  other  simple  and  joyful; 
one  being  specific,  the  other  generic;  one  being  of 
the  Court,  and  the  other  of  the  People. 

The  revival  of  the  historical  pageant  probably 
dates  from  1905  when  Mr.  Louis  N.  Parker  gave 
and  managed  the  Sherborne  Pageant  in  Dorset. 
This  was  followed  by  brilliant  ones  at  Warwick, 
at  St.  Albans,  at  Oxford,  and  other  places  noted 

46 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

for  their  historical  interest.  They  seem  to  have 
divided  themselves  naturally  into  two  kinds. 
First  are  those  which  were  or  grew  to  be  the  ex- 
pression of  a  very  strong  local  interest  and  feel- 
ing for  the  history  of  the  place  and  its  people. 
In  these  the  people  themselves,  directed  by  a  Mas- 
ter of  the  Pageant,  study  the  history,  the  charac- 
ters, the  costumes,  the  music  and  dancing,  and  the 
games.  They  have  frequently  read  about  them 
or  heard  about  them  but  now  they  have  to  be 
them,  to  make  them,  or  do  them.  The  Miller, 
Boots,  the  Squire,  the  Dame,  the  Charwoman,  all 
have  parts  in  the  pageant  and  make  it  a  real  com- 
munity joy.  The  other  type  has  been  probably 
the  more  brilliant,  and  at  the  same  time,  if  we 
may  use  the  term,  the  more  tawdry.  In  this,  pro- 
fessional actors  come  in  to  act  the  parts;  pro- 
fessional musicians  compose  and  direct  the  music; 
professional  costumers  design  the  costumes.  The 
audiences  are  mostly  from  London  and  the  whole 
brilliant  sumptuous  performance  has  an  outside, 
an  artificial  interest  like  itself. 

I  think  it  must  have  been  the  reflection  of  these 
last  that  prompted  the  magazine  article  in  1910 
which  suggested  to  American  cities  interested  in 
giving  pageants  that  they  pay  a  manager  several 

47 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

thousand  dollars  to  come  into  the  city,  study  the 
history  of  the  region,  write  the  book,  assign  the 
parts,  direct  the  actors  and  manage  the  pageant. 
No  wonder  they  were  "  un'appy  as  'ell!  " 

Compare,  if  you  will,  the  revival  of  the  festival 
in  a  Normal  school  in  Michigan.  It  was  quite 
different  from  this,  some  might  say  so  different 
as  not  to  be  comparable.  Of  that  the  reader  may 
judge  for  himself.  The  pupils  in  the  Department 
of  Expression  were  making  more  insistent  that 
trenchant  question,  "  What's  in  a  name?  "  They 
were  failing  to  express  either  themselves  or  any- 
one else.  They  were  bored,  completely  bored. 
Those  in  the  course  in  "Masterpieces"  had  a 
fellow  feeling  for  the  girl  from  the  rural  depart- 
ment who  entered  the  course  late.  The  second 
day  she  was  there  she  flopped  herself  down  in  her 
seat,  chewing  her  gum  violently  as  if  to  increase 
her  dynamic  manners,  looked  quizzically  up  at 
the  instructor  and  inquired:  "  Say,  who's  the  au- 
thor of  Masterpieces,  anyway?  " 

It  was  a  sad,  it  was  a  desperate  state  of  affairs. 
How  could  these  pupils  be  wakened?  Their 
bodies  even  seemed  dead,  their  minds  surely  were, 
and  as  to  their  souls  —  well,  one's  inquiry  stopped 
at  the  first  two.     "  How  would  you  like  to  give 

48 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

a  festival?  "  It  came  like  a  bomb  from  the  desk. 
But  it  didn't  seem  to  strike.  They  looked  a  little 
surprised,  a  little  puzzled.  Finally  one,  who  had 
reached  that  state  of  learning  where  he  wasn't 
ashamed  to  admit  that  there  was  at  least  one 
thing  which  he  didn't  know,  said,  "  Don't  know 
what  it  Is." 

Surely  they  knew  some  festal  days?  Oh,  yes, 
of  course,  there  was  Christmas,  and  one  or  two 
thought  maybe  Thanksgiving  might  be  included. 
There  was  only  one  who  suggested  May  Day.  It 
didn't  appeal  greatly  to  the  others.  They  said 
that  they  couldn't  remember  that  they  had  ever 
had  much  fun  on  May  Day.  One  girl  said  she 
used  to  make  flower  baskets,  when  the  flowers 
came  out  early,  and  hang  them  on  the  door  knobs 
on  the  eve  of  May  Day,  but  she  didn't  think  it  was 
much  fun. 

"Didn't  you  ever  have  a  May-pole?"  they 
were  asked.  One  or  two  of  them  admitted  that 
they  had  wound  a  May-pole,  but  there  was  little 
enthusiasm  about  doing  it  again;  it  was  nothing 
but  practice  and  the  teacher  had  scolded  them 
if  they  didn't  hold  the  ribbons  tight  enough  and  if 
they  forgot  to  count.  "  But  what  did  it  all  mean; 
why  did  they  wind  the  May-pole;  and  why  did 

49 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

they  hang  baskets  on  the  doors,  and  why  was  the 
first  of  May  called  May  Day?  "  They  hadn't 
thought  of  that.  A  little  spark  of  interest 
gleamed  for  a  moment  and  they  even  thought 
they'd  like  to  look  it  up.  The  next  recitation 
they  assured  the  instructor  that  May  Day  was 
celebrated  way  back  by  the  ancient  Greeks  and  by 
the  Romans  and  by  the  English  —  oh,  yes,  very 
generally  by  the  English.  It  wasn't  always  cele- 
brated on  the  first  of  May  but  it  was  celebrated 
when  the  Spring  came.  Being  questioned  some 
of  them  guessed  why  —  and  a  few  of  them  knew 
why.  Because  they  were  somewhat  tired  of  Win- 
ter themselves  they  felt  quite  keenly  how  glad 
they  would  be  to  have  Spring  return.  And  if  it 
wasn't  altogether  a  matter  of  sustenance,  if  they 
didn't  believe  that  by  offerings  and  sacrifices  and 
festivities  they  had  to  appease  their  gods  in  order 
that  they  might  have  food,  they  did  feel  that  they 
could  dance  and  shout  and  laugh  if  only  Spring 
were  here.  Yes,  they  were  waking  up.  "  Then 
do  you  think  we  could  j^ive  a  festival?"  If  by 
festival  was  meant  to  do  oome  of  the  old  May  Day 
g  mes  and  things  that  used  to  be  done  then,  why, 
yes,  they  thought  they'd  like  to  give  a  festival. 
"'^It  was  a  bare  rock  on  which  to  grow  May  flowers 

50 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

but  the  seed  had  been  planted  and  It  only  re- 
mained to  see  whether  the  flowers  would  bloom. 
The  Instructor  thought  there  was  only  one  way  to 
do  It.  She  must  get  away  from  anything  that 
would  make  It  seem  arduous.  It  must  be  all  joy 
and  fun  and  play.  Therefore,  it  must  be  very 
inform.al.  She  did  away  with  most  of  the  class 
formalities.  They  sat  around  the  room  in  a  circle 
and  talked  as  if  they  were  at  a  kaffee-klatsch,  and 
the  teacher  let  them  do  It,  reserving  only  the  right 
for  each  person,  when  he  talked,  to  be  heard. 
She  frankly  said  she  herself  knew  very  little  about 
it;  that  they  would  all  have  to  work  together. 
She  made  suggestions  of  course,  but  she  left  the 
manner  of  working  them  out  to  the  class.  Three 
classes  in  the  department  decided  that  they  wanted 
to  give  a  May  festival.  One  class  voted,  after 
a  discussion,  to  give  a  Greek  May  Festival;  an- 
other to  give  an  Old  English  May  Day,  and  an- 
other to  take  any  material  that  they  liked  from 
any  source  whatever,  and  just  have  a  joyful  May 
Day.  '^  _^^ 

METHOD  OF    PROCEDURE  ^ 

The  method  of  procedure  was  about  the  same 
in  all  classes,  with  very  Interesting  variations  of 

51 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

individualism.  But  a  description  of  the  Greek 
one  will  practically  tell  the  story.  This  class  had 
found  some  accounts  of  old  Greek  Festivals.  In 
these  there  were  games,  music,  and  dancing,  and 
in  some  there  was  a  pantomimic  play.  From  this 
they  concluded  that  those  were  the  elements  that 
they  wanted  in  their  Greek  Festival.  Perhaps  it 
was  within  the  province  of  the  Instructor  alone  to 
suggest  that  in  order  to  give  anything  Greek  they 
must  know  something  about  the  Greek  people. 
This  seemed  logical  to  them  and  they  spent  a  few 
days  finding  out  some  of  the  domestic  customs 
of  the  ancient  Greeks.  In  this,  the  "  Home  Life 
of  Ancient  Greeks,"  by  Bliimner,  translated  by 
Zimmern,  helped  them.  Inasmuch  as  on  May 
Day  the  Greeks  offered  thanks  to  their  gods  for 
the  return  of  Spring,  one  suggested  that  they 
look  up  some  Greek  mythology.  They  had  but 
little  time  to  do  all  this,  for  three  weeks  and  a  half 
from  the  time  they  decided  to  give  the  festival 
they  were  to  present  it  in  the  grove  of  the  school. 
So  after  a  few  recitations  on  the  customs  and 
stories  of  the  Greeks  they  were  asked  how  they 
were  going  to  plan  for  their  festival.  They  had 
decided  what  were  the  elements  they  wanted  in 
it  —  games,   music,    dancing,   and   a   pantomimic 

52 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

play.  Now  what  was  the  best  way  to  get  these? 
Some  one  suggested  that  they  be  divided  Into 
groups.  So  the  Instructor  divided  the  class  Into 
committees,  one  for  the  music,  one  for  the  games, 
one  for  costuming,  one  for  the  dance,  and  one  for 
the  story.  The  last  half  of  that  hour  she  gave  over 
*  to  the  committees,  each  chairman  meeting  her 
group  and  deciding  what  they  would  first  do. 
They  were  to  report  to  the  class  two  days  after. 
"  Of  course  you  know  we  have  no  money  to  spend 
on  this.  You  will  have  to  take  that  into  considera- 
tion." This  didn't  discourage  them  at  all  to  the 
instructor's  surprise.  She  hadn't  quite  realized 
how  much  enthusiasm  they  had  gained. 

Next  morning  the  committee  on  games  brought 
in  a  list  of  games  which  the  Greek  maidens  had 
played  (there  were  no  boys  in  this  class).  Most 
of  the  games  the  class  knew  but  they  did  not  know 
that  they  were  Greek.  They  had  rather  accepted 
their  American  origin  without  any  question. 
Who  could  imagine  the  ancient  Greeks  playing 
Tag,  for  instance,  or  Bllndman's  Buff.  "  Well, 
let's  play  some  of  these  games  and  see  which  we 
like  best."  So  they  pushed  the  chairs  back,  gath- 
ered In  a  circle,  and  played  Bllndman's  Buff. 
When  the  one  blindfolded  called  to  the  pursued 

53 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

It  was  decided  that  to  keep  the  atmosphere  some 
mythological  names  should  be  used.  Any  one 
stepping  Into  the  room  might  have  blinked  to  hear 
a  pursuer  calling,  "Where  are  you,  Ariadne?" 
and  the  answer,  "  Here  I  am,  Theseus,"  or 
*'  Where  are  you.  Narcissus?  "  and,  "  Here  I  am, 
Echo."  Then  the  chairman  of  the  committee  told 
them  to  sit  around  in  a  circle  for  a  game  of  ball 
—  for  this  was  a  favorite  pastime  of  the  Grecian 
maidens.  It  seemed  very  simple  —  but  wasn't  — 
consisting  in  keeping  the  ball  going  rhythmically 
and  gracefully.  They  played  several  games  and 
out  of  these  they  decided,  by  vote,  to  use  Tag,  the 
game  of  Ball,  and  Bllndman's  Buff.  When  they 
went  out  of  the  room  their  cheeks  were  red,  their 
eyes  sparkling,  and  their  bodies  much  more  ahve 
than  they  had  been  for  many  a  day. 

The  committee  on  music  had  difficulties.  In 
the  first  place  they  said  that  the  old  Greek  scale 
was  not  like  ours.  In  the  second  place  they 
couldn't  find  any  songs.  They  found  some  music, 
In  Rowbotham's  "History  of  Music,"  but  no 
words.  This  difficulty  they  solved  in  a  few  days. 
With  a  good  deal  of  search  they  found  an  Ode 
to  May,  which  by  some  adaptation  could  be  made 
to  fit  the  music.     The  music  was  put  on  the  board 

54 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

and  the  words  also,  and  the  chah'man  of  the  com- 
mittee drilled  the  class  in  singing  this  delicate  and 
beautiful  tribute  to  the  Spring.  They  were  de- 
lighted to  find  that  they  could  use  this  in  a  pro- 
cession through  the  woods  to  the  natural  stage 
where  they  were  going  to  present  the  festival. 
But  Grecian  maidens  did  not  walk  as  we  do. 
They  made  their  progress  in  a  much  more  grace- 
ful, rhythmical  step  than  our  efficient  trot.  So  the 
committee  on  music  hterally  put  the  class  through 
its  paces. 

Costuming  was  not  very  difficult,  that  is,  as  con- 
cerned the  style  of  the  robes,  but  would  cost 
money.  The  flowing  garments  could  be  made 
out  of  cheesecloth,  and  the  bands  around  the  hair 
out  of  gold  paper.  They  felt  that  they  must  have 
these  costumes,  so  with  one  accord  they  voted  to 
give  the  money  themselves  as  it  came  only  to  a 
few  cents  apiece.  The  cheesecloth  was  bought 
and  the  class  one  day  adjourned  to  the  sewing 
room,  where  the  committee  showed  them  their 
patterns  and  helped  them  to  cut  their  gowns. 
There  was  little  work  done  on  these  outside,  for 
the  instructor  wanted  this  to  be  a  part  of  regular 
school  work. 

The  Invitation  to  the  dance  was  a  little  slow 
55 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

in  coming.     The  committee  could  find  no  direc- 
tions  for  Greek  dances  but  they  didn't  want  to 
give  it  up.     So  they  thought  that  they  would  make 
up  some,  keeping  the  spirit  of  the  people  as  best 
they  could.     Inasmuch  as  the  committee  on  the 
pantomime  had  decided  that  the  story  of  Ceres 
and  Proserpine  was  to  be  the  subject  of  the  play, 
they  concluded  that  they  needed  a  dance  to  bring 
on  the  Greek  maidens  who  pick  flowers  with  Pros- 
erpine in  that  vale  where  Spring  reigns  perpetu- 
ally.    So  they  originated  a  dance,  working  out  the 
expression  from  the  inside  rather  than  putting  it 
on  like  adhesive  plasters  as  in  the  usual  "  ball- 
room "  dancing.     It  was  a  slow,  stately,  graceful 
dance  in  which  the  arms  and  the  body  expressed 
the  joy  of  Spring  as  much  as  the  feet.      Perhaps 
some  of  Botticelli's  pictures,  that  hung  on  the  wall 
of   the   room,   with   their   eternal    spring,    helped 
them  to  conceive  this  dance.     They  thought,  too, 
that  the  flowers,  after  they  had  been  revived,  at 
the  return  of  Proserpine,  would  show  their  joy  in 
the  dance.     It  spoke  rather  well  for  the  expres- 
sion of  their  ideas  that  this  dance  was  light  and 
fairylike   in   contrast  with   the  dignity  and   cere- 
mony of  the  Grecian  maidens. 

The   committee   on   the    "  play "   asked   every 
56 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

member  of  the  class  to  write  out  a  dramatization 
of  the  story  of  Ceres  and  Proserpine,  as  that 
seemed  to  signify  the  return  of  Spring  to  the  earth 
after  she  had  been  stolen  away  and  hidden  for  six 
months.  They  wished  to  play  it  In  pantomime, 
as  any  attempt  to  put  It,  or  at  least  all  of  It, 
into  language,  they  felt,  would  destroy  Its  beauty. 
From  the  dramatizations  handed  in,  they  made 
a  composite,  taking  the  best  from  each  one  and 
so  getting  a  play,  literally  by  the  class.  Perhaps 
no  other  one  thing  emphasized  to  them  their 
needs  as  much  as  this  one  requirement.  In  one 
dramatization  the  student  had  been  very  literal  in 
her  adaptation.  Her  stage  directions  read, 
*'  There  is  a  great  rumble  and  the  earth  shakes 
when  Pluto  carries  oft  Proserpine  in  his  chariot." 
The  Instructor  sav^ed  this  out  of  the  others  that 
had  been  handed  to  her  to  look  over,  and  read  It 
to  the  class.  Inasmuch  as  they  were  to  give  the 
festival  In  the  grove  of  the  school,  she  inquired, 
rather  pertinently,  if  they  were  going  to  use 
dynamite  to  make  Normal  Hill  shake.  "  And 
you  have  no  money,  you  know.  Now  where  are 
you  going  to  get  that  wonderful  chariot  of  Pluto's 
and  where  will  the  horses  come  from,  and  where, 
oh,  where,  will  you  get  some  one  to  make  them 

57 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

whirl  In  godlike  speed  over  the  ascents  and  de- 
scents of  Normal  Hill?  "  It  was  a  good  illustra- 
tion. They  had  been  told,  and  they,  in  their  turn, 
had  repeated  it,  namely,  that  they  must  keep  in 
mind  four  things :  the  people  who  were  to  give  the 
festival;  the  people  who  were  to  see  it;  the  place 
where  they  were  to  give  it;  and  the  materials  with 
which  they  were  to  work.  The  people  on  the  dance 
committee  knew  that  they  had  to  give  their  dance 
outdoors,  and  that  there  were  twenty  people  to 
give  two  dances.  The  pupils  on  the  music  com- 
mittee, in  adapting  their  music,  realized  that  they 
had  no  bass  or  tenors.  The  people  who  were 
choosing  the  games  had  to  discard  all  races 
(girls  are  neither  very  beautiful  nor  very  effective 
in  races),  and  they  could  produce  no  chariots  for 
races  as  in  the  old-time  festivities.  But  it  took 
the  dramatization  to  bring  out  clearly  how  very 
much  and  how  very  carefully  the  place  and  the 
people  and  the  materials  had  to  be  considered. 
Normal  Hill  would  not  shake,  and  Grecian  chari- 
ots were  not  given  away  with  speeding  horses 
to  members  of  a  festival  committee  that  had  no 
money  to  create  them. 

To  digress  for  a  moment  to  the  class  that  was 
working  on  the  Old  English  May  Day.     They, 

58 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

too,  were  doing  a  dramatization,  for  no  Old  Eng- 
lish May  Day  would  be  complete  without  Robin 
Hood  and  his  merrie  band  of  men  under  the 
greenwood  tree.  Every  member  of  the  class 
handed  in  a  dramatic  version  of  some  Robin 
Hood  story  or  ballad.  Curiously  enough  there 
were  several  made  of  the  story  of  Robin  Hood 
and  the  Butcher.  Perhaps  you  remember  how 
Robin  Hood,  on  adventure  bent,  met  a  butcher  on 
the  highway  one  bright  morning,  and  after  dicker- 
ing with  him  came  into  possession  of  his  clothes 
and  his  cart  filled  with  meat  which  he  was  tak- 
ing to  the  market  in  the  town.  From  the  high- 
road the  scene  changes  to  the  market  place  in  the 
city.  In  one  dramatization  the  scene  was  care- 
fully described  as,  "  a  market  place  with  booths 
all  around  and  all  kinds  of  meat  displayed  on  the 
tables;  and  deer  and  other  animals  hanging  from 
hooks."  There  were  at  least  two  other  scenes 
in  the  story  with  consequent  change  of  properties. 
The  instructor  read  this  to  the  class  and  asked 
what  were  the  difficulties.  One  by  one  they  came 
out.  But  for  some  it  seemed  to  take  the  con- 
certed thought  of  the  whole  class  to  make  them 
apparent.  In  the  first  place,  as  there  was  no  cur- 
tain, a  change  of  scene  —  unless  that  change  de- 

59 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

manded  little  or  no  change  of  properties  —  was 
not  feasible.  They  could  see  that,  especially 
when  they  were  asked  if  they  would  be  willing  to 
carry  the  meat  in  and  out.  They  came  to  think, 
too,  that  it  might  give  the  audience  a  chance  to 
laugh,  and  no  audience  would  miss  that!  "The 
same  old  question,"  the  instructor  said.  "  Pray 
tell  me  where  are  you  going  to  get  these  booths? 
How  are  you  going  to  carry  them  on  to  the  hill  so 
that  the  audience  can  see  them,  and  then  take 
them  out  so  that  the  next  scene  can  take  place  In 
a  palace  that  is  not  a  meat  market,  undisguised. 
And  where  will  you  get  your  men  who  will  come 
in  dragging  their  meat  behind  them?  " 

A  recitation  of  this  sort  is,  with  all  its  incon- 
gruities, very  profitable.  None  of  those  pupils 
ever  made  that  mistake  again.  They  had  to  find 
this  out  for  themselves  by  doing  it  themselves,  not 
as  an  exercise  to  put  on  paper,  but  as  a  play  to  be 
acted  by  the  members  of  the  class,  on  Normal  Hill, 
before  an  audience  of  the  students  and  their 
friends.  In  that  lesson  they  learned  more  about 
dramatic  structure,  although  that  was  not  their  as- 
signed lesson,  than  they  would  learn  In  many  a 
day  of  mere  study,  without  the  presentation  of 
dramas.     When  the  spectators  saw  "  The  Mar- 

60 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

riage  of  Allan  a  Dale  "  presented  In  two  simple 
scenes,  they  could  not  have  guessed  through  what 
complexities  its  simplicity  had  come. 

But  to  return  to  the  Greek  festival.  Thinking 
of  their  audience  (they  had  come  to  the  point 
where  that  element  really  entered  into  their  calcu- 
lations), they  felt  that  the  pantomime  would  be 
better  understood  if  some  member  of  the  class 
would  first  tell  the  story.  It  was  a  pretty  idea, 
too,  that  among  the  flowers  might  be  Narcissus 
and  Anemone  and  Hyacinth  and  that  somewhere 
in  the  play  they  might  tell  very  briefly  their  stories. 
Now  they  had  everything  selected  —  that  is  the 
dances,  the  song,  the  games,  and  the  play.  They 
thought  that  they  were  ready  to  begin  rehearsals 
of  the  complete  festival.  "  All  right,"  agreed  the 
instructor,  for  those  dramatizations  had  been  a 
lesson  to  her,  too.  What  was  the  use  of  wasting 
time  and  energy,  telling  them  how  to  do  a  thing, 
or  what  to  do,  or  what  not  to  do,  when  they  must 
find  out  for  themselves  by  doing  it.  They 
started  —  and  then  stopped.  "  What  comes 
first?  "  "  I  don't  know,"  answered  the  instructor. 
"  But  —  but — ,"  they  came  back  a  few  steps  into 
the  room.  "  Well,  we  can't  go  and  give  it  until 
we  decide."     They    addressed   their   teacher   al- 

6i 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

most   with   scorn.     "  Oh,    very   well,    perhaps   it 
would  be  better  to  decide  first." 

Every  one  agreed  that  they  ought  to  enter  with 
the  processional  step,  singing  the  chant.  Then 
they  thought  that  they  should  follow  with  the 
games,  and  after  the  games  have  the  story  told, 
and  then  the  play  would  naturally  follow.  "  Very 
well,  now  let's  do  that  much."  So  they  went  out 
on  to  the  hill.  It  was  a  beautiful  setting  for  a 
festival;  the  hill  descending  into  a  natural  stage 
in  the  center,  with  a  background  and  "  wings  "  of 
wooded  hill  land.  The  maidens  started  back  in 
the  woods  and  out  of  sight,  so  that  the  music 
sounded  like  old  forgotten  melodies  far  away. 
When  they  came  into  view  with  that  swaying  step 
that  they  had  practiced  so  often  in  their  class, 
the  effect  was  charming.  But  when  they  got 
to  the  stage,  they  stopped,  all  in  a  huddle,  and 
when  the  song  had  come  to  an  end,  there  they 
stood,  very  uncomfortable  and  very  ridiculous. 
They  knew  that  they  wanted  to  play  the  games 
next  but  they  didn't  know  how  to  start.  To  their 
discomfort,  they  were  left  huddling  there  quite 
long  enough  for  them  to  realize  that  there  was 
something  still  to  be  done.  They  had  to  find  a 
way  to  get  from  the  chant  to  the  games,  and  look- 

62 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

ing  ahead,  they  saw,  too,  that  they  would  have  to 
find  a  way  to  get  from  the  games  to  the  story. 
When  they  had  felt  this  very  keenly  In  confusion 
the  lesson  for  the  next  day  was  assigned.  Each 
one  was  to  make  out  a  programme  showing  each 
step  of  the  festival  and  how  the  transitions  were  to 
be  made  from  the  song  to  the  games;  from  the 
games  to  the  story;  and  so  on  through  the  festi- 
val. The  next  day  these  programmes  were  read 
aloud  in  class  and  discussed  in  a  truly  practical 
way.  Then  they  were  given  to  a  committee  to 
work  over  and  to  make  out  of  them  a  final  pro- 
gramme ;  and  the  class  went  on  with  its  work. 
The  Greek  girls  went  into  the  gymnasium  to  prac- 
tice their  dance  and  the  flower  girls  told  their 
stories  and  discussed  their  entrance. 

The  following  programme,  as  it  was  put  on  the 
board  the  next  day,  showed  that  much  time  and 
thought  had  been  expended  on  it,  and  it  seemed  a 
satisfactory  solution  to  difficulties  that  at  times 
had  appeared  almost  insurmountable. 

"  The  Greek  maidens,  dressed  in  flowing  Greek 
garments,  with  yellow  bands  around  their  hair, 
enter  from  the  woods  In  their  processional,  sing- 
ing the  Greek  Ode.  When  they  come  on  to  the 
natural  stage,  they  form  In  a  semicircle.     After 

63 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  song  is  finished,  they  join  hands  and  circle 
around,  once  to  the  left,  and  once  to  the  right, 
coming  back  to  their  starting  places.  Then  they 
drop  to  the  ground,  to  play  the  games.  One  girl, 
who  has  the  ball,  throws  it  and  the  one  who 
catches  it,  throws  it  to  another,  and  so  on  until 
the  ball  has  been  caught  five  times.  The  fifth  one 
who  catches  it  changes  the  play  to  Blindman's 
Buff  by  choosing  some  one  and  blindfolding  her 
(separate  sterilized  handkerchiefs  being  used  for 
each  person).  The  third  person  caught  changes 
the  game  into  Tag  and  this  game  takes  every  one 
off  the  stage  except  the  one  who  is  to  tell  the  story 
of  Ceres  and  Proserpine.  After  she  has  finished, 
the  music  for  the  Greek  dance  starts  and  the 
maidens  come  in  from  every  direction  through  the 
trees.  As  they  exit,  dancing  over  the  hills  and 
away,  from  the  opposite  direction  comes  Ceres, 
singing,  '  Where  are  my  roses,  and  where  are  my 
violets,  and  where  is  my  beautiful  parsley,  too,' 
Then  the  flower  girls,  with  wreaths  of  flowers  on 
their  heads,  come  running  in,  answering,  '  Here 
are  your  roses,  and  here  are  your  violets,  and  here 
is  your  beautiful  parsley,  too.'  Ceres  sits  on  a 
log  that  is  near  the  audience  and  the  Flowers 
group   themselves   on   the   hillside.     Then   Ceres 

64 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

notices  Anemone,  and  says,  '  There  is  little  Anem- 
one —  whence  do  you  come,  my  pretty  flower  ?  ' 
or  some  such  question.  And  Anemone  tells  his 
story.  After  that  Ceres  questions  Narcissus  and 
Hyacinth,  each  of  whom  tells  his  story  in 
turn.  As  Hyacinth  begins,  Proserpine  comes  in 
with  the  Grecian  maidens  and  circles  In  and  out 
among  the  Flowers,  picking  the  buds  from  the 
wreaths  on  their  heads.  She  wanders  away  to  the 
right,  and  then  suddenly  when  no  one  is  looking, 
Pluto  in  a  black  costume  rushes  in,  encloses  Proser- 
pine in  his  robe,  and  carries  her  like  a  whirlwind 
down  the  hill  and  out  of  sight.  The  Flowers  be- 
gin to  droop,  the  heads  slowly  dropping,  until  they 
have  withered  and  fallen.  Ceres,  looking  to  see 
what  is  the  cause  of  this,  finds  that  Proserpine  has 
vanished.  In  consternation,  she  and  the  Greek 
maidens  rush  In  all  directions  looking  for  her. 
Finally  they  all  disappear,  and  Ceres  enters  on  the 
other  side  of  the  hill,  to  Indicate  that  she  has  been 
wandering  far.  She  shows  by  her  actions  that  she 
is  in  great  grief  as  she  sits  down  again  on  the  log, 
weeping  over  the  drooping  Flowers.  Then  a 
fairy  or  a  wood-nymph  enters  and  tells  by  her 
gestures  that  Proserpine  Is  coming.  Ceres  rises 
to  embrace  her  as  she  runs  in.     After  greeting 

65 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

her  mother,  Proserpine  touches  each  Flower  in 
turn,  and  as  they  are  touched,  they  slowly  begin 
to  revive.  Then  they  join  in  the  flower  dance, 
running  over  the  crest  of  the  hill,  as  it  is  finished." 

This  programme  was  copied  by  the  members  of 
the  class.  Then  they  spent  several  mornings 
going  through  it  on  the  hill.  Many  times  their 
attention  had  to  be  called  to  the  audience  element. 
They  mustn't  forget  that  when  they  had  anything 
to  say  it  must  be  heard,  or  that,  being  out  of  doors, 
they  mustn't  group  themselves  into  too  small  a 
space,  but  must  think  of  their  picture. 

The  preparation  for  this  covered  about  three 
weeks  and  a  half  of  time.  While  a  longer  time 
in  practice  might  have  given  a  more  finished  per- 
formance, there  was  no  time  for  enthusiasm  to 
shp  away  or  for  spontaneity  to  die.  Every  day 
there  was  something  new,  and  every  day  there  was 
more  joy.  And  when  the  day  to  present  it  came 
the  instructor  rallied  them  around  her  and  told 
them  that  while  she  hoped  and  believed  that  the 
spectators  would  have  a  good  time,  her  first 
thought  was  of  them.  She  wanted  them  to  have 
the  best  kind  of  a  time  and  to  keep  that  thought 
in  mind  rather  than  to  think  of  how  the  audience 
was  liking  it;  for  it  was  their  own  festival,  and  in 

66 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

proportion  to  their  fun  would  the  audience  enjoy 
It.  Throughout  this  festival,  and  those  given  the 
same  day  by  the  other  two  classes,  joy  was  very 
evident.  And  "  wherever  joy  Is,  creation  has 
been,  and  the  richer  the  creation  the  deeper  the 
joy." 

MAY    DAY    FESTIVAL    GIVEN    BY    SEVENTH    GRADE 
PUPILS 

In  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  a  class  of  thirty- 
five  seventh  grade  pupils,  ranging  from  twelve 
years  to  sixteen  years  of  age,  gave  a  May  festival, 
"  not  to  afford  pleasure  to  grown-ups,"  as  their 
teacher  Mary  E.  Kline  said,  "  but  to  give  joy  to 
the  participants  and  to  the  one  hundred  little  folks 
from  the  kindergarten  and  first  grades  who  com- 
posed the  audience."  (The  element  of  the  audi- 
ence was  taken  Into  consideration  from  the  first.) 

Here  in  America  we  know  little  or  nothing  of 
the  traditions  that  surround  May  Day,  but  in  them 
we  repeat  the  experiences  of  the  race  and  of  civi- 
lization. The  return  of  Spring  Is  a  wonder  to  us 
to-day  as  It  was  to  the  first  man  and  woman  or  to 
the  Greeks  and  the  Norse,  and  if  we  do  not  ex- 
plain It  In  the  same  way  we  do  feel  Its  poetry  and 
mysticism.     But  when  the  pupils  in  this  class  were 

67 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

asked  to  write  what  they  knew  about  May  Day, 
they  wrote  their  experiences  in  the  school,  seem- 
ing to  have  no  other  connection  for  it. 

There  was  one  problem  ever  before  the  teacher : 
many  of  her  pupils  were  foreigners,  hearing  an- 
other language  than  English  spoken  in  their 
homes,  and  they  were  also  at  that  very  trying 
age  of  self-consciousness.  Their  English,  conse- 
quently, was  bad,  very  bad.  What  made  it  more 
difficult  was  that  they  were  not  reticent  in  saying 
that  they  didn't  like  "  language  "  and  "  composi- 
tion." Could  a  May  festival  be  made  a  sugar- 
coated  pill,  the  teacher  wondered.  She  tried  it. 
The  work  had  to  be  done  in  the  language,  reading, 
and  music  periods.  This  class,  also,  was  divided 
into  committees.  The  songs  chosen  were  "  Lovely 
May,"  "  Merry  May,"  "  'Tis  Spring,"  and  "  Some 
Folks  Like  to  Cry."  The  first  three  were  selected 
from  an  English  collection  brought  by  one  of  the 
pupils;  the  last  was  taught  to  them  by  a  little 
Scotch  lassie  in  the  room.  "  London  Bridge," 
"  Boughs  in  May,"  and  "  Go  Round  and  Round 
the  Village,"  were  the  games  chosen.  The  Sleep- 
ing Beauty  was  the  story  that  they  decided  to  play, 
each  one  writing  a  version  of  each  act  and  hand- 
ing It  to  the  committee  appointed  to  look  them 

68 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

over  and  to  make  the  final  adaptation.  The 
Queen  wore  the  wedding  dress  of  the  Scotch 
lassie's  mother;  and  the  Princess  wore  her  sister's 
white  graduating  gown  and  her  aunt's  bronze 
wedding  slippers  — "  because  they  were  so  quaint." 
The  good  fairies  dressed  in  white  and  carried 
gilded  wands  which  one  of  their  number  had  made. 
The  evil  fairy  carried  a  cane  and  was  arrayed  in  a 
bonnet  and  military  cape  which  another  child  had 
borrowed  for  the  occasion.  The  nurse  wore  the 
cap  and  apron  belonging  to  her  cooking-school 
uniform.  Doing  up  her  hair  and  wearing  an  old 
dark  dress  of  her  mother's  transformed  another 
little  maid  into  an  old  woman.  The  King's  guard 
borrowed  window  sticks  to  carry  when  they 
marched,  because  it  gave  them  a  military  air. 

"  For  the  forest  needed  in  the  second  and  third 
act,"  the  teacher  explained,  "  a  parent  allowed 
some  branches  to  be  cut  from  trees  on  his  prop- 
erty. These,  the  boys  tied  into  bundles,  six  or 
seven  feet  high.  Boys  standing  behind  them  held 
them  in  place  for  the  forest  and  opened  a  passage 
for  the  prince  at  the  proper  time."  So  was  that 
omnipresent  difficulty  in  all  schools  —  no  money 
—  overcome  by  this  seventh  grade  class. 

The  dance  around  the  May-pole  was  the  only 
69 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

part  of  the  programme  that  required  time  out  of 
school  hours,  and  the  reason  for  this  was  that  the 
piano  in  the  hall  had  to  be  used.  One  of  the 
best  results  of  this  work  was  the  good  comrade- 
ship produced  by  the  planning  and  the  working 
out  of  the  festival. 

The  teacher  found  that  there  was  such  a  dif- 
ferent spirit  in  this  play  than  she  had  been  able  to 
get  in  any  of  the  scenes  that  she  had  tried  to  give 
in  the  past,  where  the  children  had  learned  their 
lines  written  by  some  one  else.  One  very  practical 
benefit,  too,  came  from  the  interest  of  the  Princi- 
pal of  the  school.  He  came  into  the  hall  to  see 
the  festival,  because  he  said  that  he  was  so  much 
interested  in  their  naturalness  and  in  the  enjoy- 
ment that  they  were  getting  out  of  it;  and  he  was 
surprised,  too,  in  the  way  that  the  boys  took  hold 
of  it. 

MERRY    MOUNT   MAY-POLE 

The  May-pole  was  quite  general  throughout 
England.  It  is  said  that  the  last  May-pole  erected 
in  London  was  one  hundred  feet  in  height  and  was 
on  the  spot  where  the  Church  in  the  Strand  now 
stands.  It  was  taken  down  in  17 17-18,  and  ulti- 
mately served  as  a  support  for  a  large  telescope 

70 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

belonging  to  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  Of  course  dur- 
ing the  time  of  the  Puritans  all  festivities  were 
under  a  ban,  but  they  were  resumed  after  the 
Restoration. 

When  the  Pilgrims  came  to  this  country  they 
celebrated  no  festival  days.  But  perhaps  the  most 
significant  May-pole  in  American  history  was  the 
May-pole  of  Merry  Mount,  erected  on  May  i, 
1627,  almost  flaunting  its  garlands  over  the  Pil- 
grim settlement.  Thomas  Morton  was  a  soldier 
of  fortune  and  the  men  who  landed  with  him  on 
the  Massachusetts  coast  were  revelers  and  Lords 
of  Misrule.  They  were  going  to  let  no  chance  go 
by  to  have  their  fun  and  the  first  of  May  being  a 
festive  day  they  celebrated  it  with  sunshine  and 
jollity.  It  wasn't  altogether  a  dignified  celebra- 
tion, but  it  was  a  spirited  one.  "  In  their  train," 
says  Hawthorne,  "  were  minstrels,  not  unknown  in 
London  streets;  wandering  players,  whose  the- 
aters had  been  the  halls  of  noblemen;  mummers, 
rope-dancers,  and  mountebanks,  who  would  long 
be  missed  at  wakes,  church  ales,  and  fairs;  in  a 
word,  mirth-makers  of  every  sort  such  as  abounded 
in  that  age." 

With  songs,  noise  of  drums  and  the  discharge 
of  firearms,  they  went  into  the  virgin  forest  and 

71 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

selected  a  pine  tree  eighty  feet  in  height.  This 
they  chopped  down  and  dragged  to  the  summit  of 
Mount  Wollaston,  or  Merry  Mount,  where  they 
wreathed  it  with  garlands  and  made  it  gay  with 
ribbons,  and  near  to  the  top  nailed  the  spreading 
antlers  of  a  buck.  The  original  poem  that  they 
read  in  its  honor,  if  not  a  pretty  one,  was  a  rollick- 
ing one,  and  the  dancing,  encircling,  and  singing 
round  the  pole  made  an  unaccustomed  splash  of 
color  in  the  sun  and  the  silence  of  that  bleak  coast. 

Nothing  could  be  more  vivid  or  explain  better 
the  spirit  of  that  day  than  Hawthorne's  descrip- 
tion of  the  group  In  "  The  May-pole  of  Merry 
Mount." 

"  But  what  was  the  wild  throng  that  stood  hand 
in  hand  about  the  May-pole?  It  could  not  be, 
that  the  fauns  and  nymphs,  when  driven  from 
their  classic  groves  and  homes  of  ancient  fable, 
had  sought  refuge,  as  all  the  persecuted  did,  in 
the  fresh  woods  of  the  West.  These  were 
Gothic  monsters,  though  perhaps  of  Grecian  an- 
cestry. On  the  shoulders  of  a  comely  youth  up- 
rose the  head  and  branching  antlers  of  a  stag;  a 
second,  human  in  all  other  points,  had  the  grim 
visage  of  a  wolf;  a  third,  still  with  the  trunk  and 
limbs  of  a  mortal  man,   showed  the  beard  and 

72 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

horns  of  a  venerable  he-goat.  There  was  the 
likeness  of  a  bear  erect,  brute  in  all  but  his  hind- 
legs,  which  were  adorned  with  pink  silk  stock- 
ings. And  here  again,  almost  as  wondrous,  stood 
a  real  bear  of  the  dark  forest,  lending  each  of  his 
fore-paws  to  the  grasp  of  a  human  hand,  and  as 
ready  for  the  dance  as  any  in  that  circle.  His 
Inferior  nature  rose  half-way,  to  meet  his  com- 
panions as  they  stooped.  Other  faces  wore  the 
similitude  of  man  or  woman,  but  distorted  or  ex- 
travagant, with  red  noses  pendulous  before  their 
mouths,  which  seemed  of  awful  depth,  and 
stretched  from  ear  to  ear  In  an  eternal  fit  of 
laughter.  Here  might  be  seen  the  Salvage  Man, 
well-known  in  heraldry,  hairy  as  a  baboon,  and 
girdled  with  green  leaves.  By  his  side,  a  nobler 
figure,  but  still  a  counterfeit,  appeared  an  Indian 
hunter,  with  feathery  crest  and  wampum  belt. 
Many  of  this  strange  company  wore  fool's  caps 
and  had  little  bells  appended  to  their  garments, 
tinkling  with  a  silvery  sound,  responsive  to  the 
inaudible  music  of  their  gleesome  spirits.  Some 
youths  and  maidens  were  of  sober  garb,  yet  well 
maintained  their  places  in  the  Irregular  throng,  by 
the  expression  of  wild  revelry  upon  their  features. 
Such  were  the  colonists  of  Merry  Mount,  as  they 

73 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

stood  In  the  broad  smile  of  sunset,   round  their 
venerated  May-pole." 

It  was  a  significant  and  dramatic  episode. 
Near  It,  on  bleak  Plymouth  Rock  were  the  Pil- 
grims, cutting  out  their  homes  In  the  naked 
woods,  with  the  bitter  waves  dashing  on  the  rocks 
and  the  savages  lurking  in  the  forests  and  all 
around  them,  loneliness  and  Interminable  shadow. 
Here  was  little  color  and  no  festivity.  Indeed, 
on  Christmas  Day,  in  1621,  thirty-five  immi- 
grants who  had  come  to  help  the  Pilgrims  in 
their  home-making,  refused  to  work.  They  said 
that  they  had  conscientious  scruples  against  it. 
A  holiday  meant  something  to  them.  Inextri- 
cably bound  up  with  Christmas  were  memories 
of  their  home  and  the  games  and  the  revels  with 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  celebrate  this  holi- 
day. The  Governor,  not  wishing  to  Interfere 
with  religious  scruples,  left  them  at  home  and 
with  his  men  went  to  the  usual  work,  but  when  he 
returned,  instead  of  finding  them  quietly  observ- 
ing their  Christmas  Day,  he  came  upon  them  in 
the  street  at  play,  pitching  bars,  playing  ball,  and 
such  like  sports.  Seeing  no  religious  observance 
in    this,    with    glowering    brow    and    thunderous 

74 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

speech  he  ordered  them  into  the  houses  and  so 
killed  festivity  in  Its  first  bud. 

The  grim  and  sober  and  rugged  Pilgrims 
could  not  understand  the  life  on  Merry  Mount, 
in  which  so  much  color  and  joy  reigned.  To 
them  the  May-pole  of  Merry  Mount  was  like  a 
laugh  in  the  mysterious  face  of  Life,  so  with  irons 
in  their  hands  and  sobriety  in  their  heads  and 
grimness  in  their  hearts  they  marched  to  Merry 
Mount  and  chopped  down  this  pole  with  all  its 
trappings,  and  sobriety  and  shadow  again  reigned 
supreme  over  festivity  and  the  sun. 

What  opportunity  the  school  has  here  to  work 
out  a  festival,  combining  the  festal  spirit  of  those 
merrymakers  with  the  rugged  spirit  of  our  Pil- 
grim forefathers.  Here  is  philosophy  of  life, 
both  personal  and  communal;  here  is  history  and 
religion  and  art.  And  here  is  a  dramatic  incident 
as  a  vehicle  for  all  —  a  significant  episode  in  our 
national  life. 

SOME    TRADITIONS    OF    MAY    DAY 

The  celebration  of  May  Day  itself  is  probably 
descended  to  us  from  the  old  Roman  Floralia,  a 
festival  of  great  gayety  in  honor  of  Flora,  the 

75 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Roman  goddess  of  Springtime  and  Flowers. 
After  173  B.  C,  It  was  celebrated  annually  and  ex- 
tended from  April  28  to  May  3,  for  on  the  date 
of  April  28  the  temple  of  Flora,  near  the  Circus 
Maximus  was  founded.  Perhaps  it  has  not  been 
more  generally  celebrated  in  modern  times  than 
in  England,  English  poetry  abounding  with  refer- 
ence to  it.  ^j  In  Chaucer's  Court  of  Love  we  read 
that  on  May  Day  "  forth  goeth  all  the  court,  both 
most  and  least,  to  fetch  the  flowers  fresh." 

There  have  been  several  May  Days  noted  in 
history,  probably  the  most  famous  being  in  the 
time  of  King  Henry  VIII.  The  King  and 
Catherine  of  Aragon,  his  queen,  one  beautiful 
May  morning,  when  the  hedgerows  were  in  bloom 
with  hawthorne,  went  out  into  the  high  ground  of 
Kent,  to  gather  the  May.  On  Shorter's  Hill 
they  met  the  heads  of  the  Corporation  of  London, 
together  with  the  ofiicers  of  the  guard,  dressed 
in  Lincoln  green.  The  Captain  who  headed  them 
was  in  the  character  of  that  famous  outlaw  Robin 
Hood,  dear  to  the  hearts  of  all  English  folk.  In 
his  character  he  invited  the  King  and  the  Queen 
to  see  the  manner  in  which  he  and  his  men  lived. 
The  King,  giving  his  gracious  consent,  followed 
Robin  Hood  and  his  merry  men  to  a  glade  under 

76 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

the  hill,  adorned  with  May  flowers  and  covering 
two  thrones.  Here  they  were  served  in  the  an- 
cient manner,  with  venison  and  wine,  and  enter- 
tained with  archery  and  May-games. 

Robin  Hood  must  have  been  a  favorite  with 
Henry  VIII,  for  there  is  a  tale  that  in  the  first 
year  of  his  reign  the  King,  in  the  character  of  the 
outlaw,  played  a  prank  upon  the  Queen  and  her 
ladies-in-waiting.  He  and  twelve  of  his  noble- 
men appareled  themselves  in  short  coats  of  Kent- 
ish kendal  with  hoods  and  hosen  of  the  same; 
each  of  them  carried  a  bow  and  arrow  and  a  sword 
and  a  buckler  like  the  famous  outlaws  whom  they 
impersonated.  Rushing  into  the  room  where  the 
Queen  and  her  ladies  were  sitting,  as  may  be 
imagined,  they  created  something  of  a  stir  in  this 
well-ordered  apartment  with  their  dances  and 
their  antics. 

There  are  several  traditional  groups  belong- 
ing to  the  May  Day,  the  most  famous  being  the 
Milk  Maids,  the  Chimney  Sweeps,  and  Robin 
Hood  and  his  companions.  Through  the  streets 
of  London,  straggling  even  into  the  last  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  might  be  seen  small  bands 
of  chimney  sweeps  in  fantastic  dresses  decorated 
with  gilt  paper,  with  shovels  and  brushes  in  their 

77 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

hands.  With  each  group  was  usually  one  gro- 
tesquely attired  female  (a  man  in  disguise)  glit- 
tering with  spangles  and  bedecked  with  ribbons. 
But  most  of  the  attention  was  centered  on  a 
curious  figure  called  Jack-in-the-green.  In  a  tall 
frame  of  herbs  and  flowers,  with  a  flag  at' the  top, 
was  concealed  a  man.  When  the  chimney  sweeps 
would  stop  in  their  wanderings  and  dance  to  the 
music  of  the  drum  and  fife,  or  to  the  rattle  of  the 
shovels  and  brushes  in  their  hands,  this  figure 
would  join  in  with  its  wooden  antics,  and  when 
the  "  cap  "  was  passed  it  was  perhaps  he  who 
gathered  in  most  of  the  money. 

In  another  street  at  the  same  time,  perchance, 
or  even  near  by  in  the  same  street,  might  be  seen 
a  group  of  milk  maids  carrying  their  pails  orna- 
mented with  ribbons  and  flowers.  They  were 
usually  dressed  in  light  and  sometimes  fantastic 
garbs  and  their  heads  were  wreathed  with  flowers. 
Sometimes  they  would  lead  along  a  milch  cow 
which  they  had  decorated  in  flowers  and  leaves, 
and  stopping,  they  would  dance  around  this  ani- 
mal to  the  music  of  the  violin  or  clarionet.  At 
an  earlier  time,  instead  of  a  cow,  there  was  a  man 
somewhat  similar  to  Jack-in-the-green,  for  he  was 
encased  in  a  frame  which  covered  the  whole  half 

78 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

of  his  person.  On  this  frame  were  hung  clusters 
of  silver  flagons  and  tankards  (which  had  been 
rented  at  a  high  price),  each  set  in  a  bed  of  flow- 
ers. While  the  dance  of  the  milk  maids  con- 
tained some  beauty,  the  delight  of  the  spectators 
was  in  the  dance  of  the  "  frame  "  (the  legs  only 
of  the  person  in  it  showing) .  This  added  a 
chimsy  feature  to  the  dance  which  gave  the  same 
kind  of  delight  to  the  crowds  as  a  clown  in  a  cir- 
cus. There  have  been  few  groups  of  festal 
figures  that  have  not  had  the  jester,  the  fool,  or 
the  clown. 

In  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  there 
was  a  distinct  set  of  sports  known  as  the  May- 
games,  whose  origin  cannot  be  traced.  It  was 
customary  for  citizens  of  all  estates  to  go  out  into 
the  woods  after  the  midnight  preceding  the  May 
Day  to  cut  down  the  May-pole,  adorn  it  with 
branches  and  flowers,  and  bring  it  in  to  the  city 
where  they  danced  around  it  and  performed  other 
pastimes  all  day  long.  Toward  evening  they 
had  their  stage  plays  and  bonfires  in  the  streets. 
The  stage  plays  were  usually  founded  on  the 
Robin  Hood  ballads  which  were  very  popular. 
Indeed,  so  popular  that  Bishop  Latimer,  In  his 
sermons  printed  in  1589,  tells  the  following  story: 

79 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

"  Coming  to  a  certain  town  on  a  holiday  to 
preach,  I  found  the  church  door  fast  locked.  I 
taryed  there  half  an  houre  and  more,  and  at  last 
the  key  was  found,  and  one  of  the  parish  comes 
to  me  and  sayes,  Syr,  this  Is  a  busy  day  with  us, 
we  cannot  hear  you;  It  Is  Robin  Hoode's  Day;  the 
parish  are  gone  abroad  to  gather  for  Robin 
Hood;  I  pray  you  let  (hinder)  them  not.  I  was 
fayne,  therefore,  to  give  place  to  Robin  Hood, 
I  thought  my  rochet  would  have  been  regarded; 
but  it  would  not  serve,  It  was  fame  to  give  place 
to  Robin  Hood's  men." 

In  the  May-games  Robin  Hood  presided  as 
Lord  of  the  May,  and  a  man  dressed  as  Maid 
Marian,  his  mistress,  was  Lady  of  the  May. 
His  companions  were  those  famous  in  his  ballads 
who  always  accompanied  him  on  his  adventures. 
There  were  tests  of  archery  and  Morris-dances. 
In  the  Morris-dance,  which  was  considered  an 
essential  feature  of  May  Day,  the  Hobbyhorse 
or  a  Dragon  made  a  part  of  the  dance  with  Robin 
Hood  and  his  companions.  Their  garments  were 
adorned  with  bells,  not  only  for  ornament,  but 
also  for  the  music.  In  Brand's  Observations  on 
Popular  Antiquities  there  is  a  description  of  the 
costumes  of  Robin  Hood  and  some  of  his  com- 

80 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

panions,  and  In  Chamber's  Book  of  Days  Is  an. 
excerpt  from  the  novel  Queen  Hoo  Hall  by  Mr. 
Strutt,  which  describes  some  of  the  contests  as  well 
as  many  of  the  traditional  costumes. 

The  Hobbyhorse  was  a  great  favorite.  He 
was  a  compound  figure  having  a  near  resemblance 
to  the  head  and  tail  of  a  horse,  fastened  to  a  light 
wooden  frame  to  serve  for  the  body.  This  was 
put  over  the  head  of  a  person  and  covered  with 
trappings  which  extended  to  the  ground,  so  con- 
cealing the  feet  of  the  person  and  helping  Imagi- 
nation to  see  the  horse  that  curveted  and  trotted 
and  cantered  and  jumped  around  as  no  horse  In 
any  field  or  on  any  track  ever  performed. 

There  are  some  pretty  May  customs  that  come 
to  us  from  the  Isle  of  Man  and  from  Germany. 
One  class  working  on  the  May  Day  festival 
brought  their  revels  to  a  climax  In  an  old  allegori- 
cal play  called  "  Strife  Between  Winter  and  Sum- 
mer." The  oldest  report  to  be  found  about  this 
play  Is  dated  1442,  although  there  are  traces  of  It 
in  a  manuscript  of  earlier  date,  and  Its  theme  can 
be  found  In  the  works  of  Hans  Sachs,  the  wonder- 
ful old  shoemaker  melstersinger.  The  hosts  of 
Summer,  heralded  by  the  song  of  the  Cuckoo, 
came  running  In  singing  a  song  of  Spring.     The 

81 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

hooting  of  the  owl  and  a  mournful  song  ushered 
in  Winter  and  his  followers.  They  were  dressed 
in  straw  and  cotton,  simulating  snow,  and  carried 
wooden  swords,  and  Winter  himself  had  on  a 
crown  of  straw  and  a  mantle  of  snow.  In  con- 
trast Summer  was  dressed  in  green  with  a  crown 
of  foliage  on  her  head,  and  those  who  followed 
in  her  ranks  were  garlanded  with  vines  and  car- 
ried grain  and  grass.  Then  the  strife  began, 
Spring  asking  Winter  to  leave  and  Winter  refus- 
ing. Pleas  being  in  vain  they  resorted  to  battle. 
Spring  and  her  maidens  pelted  Winter  and  his 
hosts  with  flowers  and  nosegays.  Winter  retalia- 
ting with  swords  and  snowballs.  Of  course  Winter 
was  defeated,  his  mantle  of  snow  was  captured, 
and  Spring  and  her  maidens,  dancing  and  singing 
around  it,  buried  it  under  their  flowers. 

(In  The  Elementary  School  Teacher,  volume 
8,  page  413,  there  is  a  description  of  this  as  it 
was  given  in  a  school,  including  the  music  for  the 
play.) 

With  these  as  suggestions  there  are  many  vari- 
ations permitting  of  much  creative  ability  for  May 
Day  observances.  For  instance,  there  is  a  de- 
scription in  book  XIX,  Chapter  I,  of  Le  Morte 
D' Arthur,  of  how  Queen  Guenevere  "  called  unto 

82 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

her  Knights  of  the  Round  Table;  and  she  gave 
them  warning  that  early  upon  the  morrow  she 
would  ride  on  Maying  into  woods  and  fields  be- 
side Westminster."  With  this  as  a  foundation 
there  might  be  worked  up  a  very  brilliant  festival 
including  characters  and  ceremonies  of  the  Table 
Round.  In  Chaucer's  Court  of  Love  or  in  his 
Knight's  Tale  the  creative  student  will  find  sug- 
gestions for  a  Chaucerian  May  Day.  There  are 
opportunities  here  to  give  a  simple  festival  or 
a  very  brilliant  festival  founded  on  traditional 
sports  and  festivities  so  linked  with  the  civiliza- 
tion and  the  literature  and  the  growth  of  the  peo- 
ple that  they  are  rich  In  possibilities  and  promises. 

THE  HARVEST  FESTIVAL 

"  Wherever  throughout  the  earth,  there  Is  such 
a  thing  as  a  formal  harvest,  there  also  appears  an 
inclination  to  mark  it  with  a  festive  celebration." 

On  account  of  the  social  and  political  condi- 
tions of  the  Turkish  Empire  in  the  past  it  may  be 
imagined  that  there  have  been  few  festivals  there. 
Social  laws  demanded  a  separation  of  the  men 
and  women,  and  political  government  feared  a 
gathering  together  of  even  a  small  group.  But 
I  am  assured  by  a  native,  that  in  the  villages,  when 

83 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  harvest  was  brought  in,  there  was  always  at 
least  a  bonfire  and  a  dance  around  its  light. 

Among  the  words  which  Moses  said  God 
spoke,  are  these:  "Three  times  thou  shalt  keep 
a  feast  unto  Me  in  the  year.  Thou  shalt  keep  the 
feast  of  unleavened  bread,  .  .  .  And  the  feast  of 
harvest,  the  first  fruits  of  thy  labors,  which  thou 
hast  sown  in  the  field:  and  the  feast  of  ingather- 
ing, which  is  in  the  end  of  the  year,  when  thou 
hast  gathered  in  thy  labors  out  of  the  field." 
Among  ancient  Israelites  the  Feast  of  Pentecost 
was  the  second  of  these  three  pilgrimage  festivals. 
At  this  feast  they  offered  thanksgiving  for  the 
grain  harvest  which  was  celebrated  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  Passover. 

The  Feast  of  Tabernacles  was  the  last  of  the 
pilgrim  festivals  and  was  the  thanksgiving  for  the 
fruit  harvest.  Four  hundred  and  twenty-four 
priests  were  in  attendance  to  accept  the  sacrifices 
by  day  and  to  start  the  illuminations  by  night. 
After  the  lighting  of  the  candles  there  were  dan- 
cing and  processions.  For,  according  to  the  law 
of  God,  spoken  by  Moses:  "  Also  in  the  fifteenth 
day  of  the  seventh  month,  when  ye  have  gathered 
in  the  fruit  of  the  land,  ye  shall  keep  a  feast  unto 
the  Lord  seven  days:     On  the  first  day  shall  be 

84 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

a  Sabbath  and  on  the  eighth  day  shall  be  a  Sab- 
bath. And  ye  shall  take  you  on  the  first  day  the 
boughs  of  goodly  trees,  branches  of  palm  trees, 
and  the  boughs  of  thick  trees,  and  willows  of  the 
brook;  and  shall  rejoice  before  the  Lord  your 
God  seven  days.  ...  Ye  shall  dwell  in  booths 
seven  days;  all  that  are  Israelites  born  shall  dwell 
in  booths." 

Therefore,  in  the  observance  of  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles  "  booths  were  erected  in  the  open  air 
with  branches  from  the  palm  and  willow,  within 
which  families  were  gathered.  The  occasion  was 
sacred  to  the  reunion  of  friends  and  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  hospitality.  It  was  unlawful  for  a  Jew 
so  much  as  to  taste  an  ear  of  parched  corn  or 
bread  of  the  new  harvest  till  a  nation  had  borne 
a  sheaf  of  barley  or  wheat  to  wave  it  before  God 
in  token  of  gratitude." 

One  cannot  read  this  divine  ordinance,  or  the 
history  in  the  Old  Testament  with  its  famines  and 
its  feasts,  its  prayers  for  food,  and  its  sacrifices 
that  plenty  might  come  again,  and  its  feasts  of 
gratitude  for  favor  restored,  without  feeling  the 
significance  of  a  harvest  festival.  Is  there  not  an 
opportunity  here  for  a  great  religious  and  rever- 
ent festival?     There  is  that  eternal  beauty  of  the 

85 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Idyll  of  Ruth  with  its  lyric  love,  a  story  of  the 
harvest  time,  of  Ruth  amid  the  alien  corn.  There 
are  the  time-honored  figures  of  Abraham  and 
Isaac  and  Joseph,  and  surrounding  them,  the  pas- 
toral life  —  the  famines,  the  struggles,  the  har- 
vest, and  the  mountains  and  the  roses  in  the 
wilderness.  Could  we  touch  this  with  all  rever- 
ence, what  an  illuminating  and  soul-stirring  folk 
festival  we  might  have. 

So  the  Jews  had  their  festival,  in  honor  of  their 
God.  The  Romans  and  the  Greeks  had  their 
festivals  in  honor  of  their  gods.  The  Japanese 
and  the  Chinese  have  their  harvest  festival  day 
at  the  close  of  the  year.  Indians  —  in  fact  all 
savage  tribes  —  as  well  as  all  people  in  mytho- 
logical times,  celebrated  the  ingathering  of  the 
harvest  with  thankfulness  as  they  had  celebrated 
the  sowing  of  the  seed  with  hope.  On  Novem- 
ber I  the  Romans  held  a  feast  in  honor  of  the 
goddess  of  fruits  and  seeds.  It  was  at  this  feast 
that  the  stores  which  had  been  laid  up  for  use  in 
the  winter  time  were  opened.  On  November  i 
or  thereabouts  was  also  the  great  harvest  festival 
to  the  sun  which  the  Druids  celebrated  as  their 
thanksgiving  or  harvest  festival,  with  their  bon- 
fires and  ceremonies  in  honor  of  their  god. 

86 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

In  later  times,  In  England,  the  name  of  the 
autumn  festival  was  Harvest-Home;  In  Scotland 
it  was  called  the  Kern.  And  In  the  North  of 
England  Its  name  was  the  Mell-Supper.  In  all 
of  these  festivals  the  servants  and  the  master  and 
mistress  mingle  together;  the  word  "  mell,"  in 
fact,  coming  from  the  French,  meler,  meaning  to 
mingle  together.  In  this  way  the  master  and 
mistress  showed  their  thanks  to  the  servants  for 
help  in  bringing  about  a  bountiful  harvest.  On 
the  evening  of  Harvest-Home  there  was  usually 
a  large  feast  in  the  barn,  presided  over  by  the 
master  and  his  wife,  to  which  all  the  servants 
came.  In  some  places  the  reapers  would  bring 
the  grain  In  a  cart  on  this  last  day  of  harvest  and 
on  the  top  of  It  they  would  put  a  figure  made  of  a 
sheaf  and  dressed  with  gay  ribbons.  It  was  sup- 
posed to  be  a  representation  of  Ceres.  In  Scot- 
land this  figure  was  dressed  like  a  doll.  A  pipe 
and  a  tabor  were  played  in  front  of  the  cart  and 
the  reapers  circled  around  singing.  This  was 
popularly  known  as  "  The  Hock-Cart." 

Hallowe'en 

Hallowe'en  or  All  Hallow  Even  cannot  be  un- 
connected with  harvest  time,  being  a  mixture  of 

87 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Christian  customs,  mythology,  and  Druidism.  As 
early  as  the  fourth  century  All  Saints'  Day  or  Hal- 
lowmas appears  in  the  calendar  of  the  Eastern 
Church.  Its  date  is  November  i  and  the  even- 
ing before  it,  October  31,  has  been  contracted  in 
name  to  Hallowe'en.  Some  of  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Druids,  those  priests  of  the  ancient  Gauls  and 
Britains,  seem  to  prevail  in  the  celebration,  for  a 
fire  forms  one  of  the  rites  of  this  day.  Perhaps 
this  fire  points  to  the  ancient  custom  of  kindling 
sacred  fires  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  the  sum- 
mer and  winter  solstices.  (The  Germans  have 
their  Osterfeuer  and  their  Johannisfeuer,  and  the 
Druids  had  their  Bealtine  and  Samhtheine.)  At 
both  these  seasons  it  was  thought  that  the  fairies 
and  elves  and  witches  were  powerful  and  so  there 
grew  up  a  great  fund  of  superstitions  relating  par- 
ticularly to  the  future  whereby  through  certain 
signs  and  symbols  on  this  night  one  might  foretell 
certain  events  of  the  forthcoming  year. 

There  was  a  very  interesting  celebration  of 
Hallowe'en  at  Balmoral  Castle  in  1874.  In 
honor  of  it,  the  farmers  and  their  families  came 
from  miles  around.  Just  as  darkness  fell  her 
Majesty,  Queen  Victoria,  and  the  Princess  Bea- 
trice, each  bearing  a  torch,  drove  out  in  an  open 

88 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

phaeton.  The  serv^ants  of  the  estate,  holding 
huge  lighted  torches,  formed  into  a  procession  be- 
hind them,  following  their  Queen  and  leader 
around  the  grounds  and  the  castle.  The  lights 
of  the  torches,  throwing  shadows  in  the  corners 
of  the  massive  castle,  shining  on  the  River  Dee, 
and  dancing  in  and  out  among  the  leaves  of  the 
trees  on  the  wooded  slopes,  suggested  that  the 
elves  and  the  fairies  and  perchance  the  witches, 
too,  were  joining  in  the  procession.  In  front  of 
the  castle  they  stopped  before  an  immense  bon- 
fire. Just  as  the  flames  were  lighted,  a  figure 
dressed  as  a  hobgoblin  appeared  on  the  scene. 
As  the  people  drew  back,  screaming  and  laughing, 
they  saw  that  he  drew  a  cart  and  in  it  was  a  witch 
—  no,  the  effigy  of  a  witch.  The  cart  was  sur- 
rounded by  fairies  carrying  long  spears.  When 
it  came  to  the  fire  they  all  gathered  around  it. 
Then  the  presiding  elf  took  the  witch  in  his  arms, 
held  it  for  a  minute  so  that  the  crowd  might 
shiver  in  expectation,  and  with  a  cry  tossed  it  into 
the  fire,  where  it,  and  its  evil  genius,  it  is  hoped, 
were  hastily  consumed.  When  nothing  but  little 
dancing  flames  and  fiery  tongues  remained  of  it, 
the  people  joined  in  reels  and  danced  to  the  strain 
of  the  piper  in  this  weird  and  pretty  observance. 

89 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

There  is  such  an  opportunity  at  Hallowe'en 
time  to  join  the  pretty  fairies  and  lovely  sprites 
with  the  sly  elves  and  wicked  witches  in  some 
weird  and  mystic  festival  that  it  is  a  pity  that  in 
the  United  States  the  celebration  partakes  largely 
of  a  rowdy  character. 

THANKSGIVING 

"  Out  of  small  beginnings  great  things  have 
been  produced  as  one  small  candle  may  light  a 
thousand." —  Governor  Bradford. 

In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  dated  December  ii, 
1 62 1,  Edward  Winslow,  thrice  Governor  of  the 
colony  of  Plymouth,  wrote  the  following:  "  We 
set  the  last  spring  some  twenty  acres  of  Indian 
corn  and  sowed  some  sixty  acres  of  barley  and 
peas;  and  according  to  the  manner  of  the  Indians, 
we  manured  our  ground  with  herrings  or  rather 
shads,  which  we  have  in  great  abundance  and  take 
with  great  ease  at  our  doors. 

"Our  corn  did  prove  well;  and,  God  be 
praised,  we  had  a  good  increase  of  Indian 
corn.  .  .  .  Our  harvest  being  gotten  in,  our  Gov- 
ernor sent  four  men  on  fowling,  that  so  we  might, 
after  a  special  manner,  rejoice  together  after  we 
had  gathered  the  fruit  of  our  labors. 

90 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

"  They  four  in  one  day  killed  as  many  fowl  as, 
with  a  little  help  besides,  served  the  company 
almost  a  week,  at  which  time,  amongst  other  rec- 
reations, we  exercised  our  arms,  many  of  the  In- 
dians coming  amongst  us,  and  among  the  rest  their 
greatest  king,  Massasoit,  with  some  ninety  men 
whom  for  three  days  we  entertained  or  feasted; 
and  they  went  out  and  killed  five  deer,  which  they 
brought  to  the  plantation,  and  bestowed  on  our 
Governor  and  on  the  captain  and  on  the  others." 

This  excerpt  is  significant  and  interesting  as 
being  the  account  o?  the  first  Thanksgiving  festi- 
val held  in  this  country.  At  first  it  was  merely 
an  occasional  festival  offered  in  thanks  for 
some  special  prosperity  or  help.  In  January, 
1795,  George  Washington  proclaimed  a  national 
Thanksgiving  celebration.  After  that  it  was  fit- 
fully celebrated  —  except  in  New  England  — 
until  after  the  Civil  War.  Since  1863  it  has  been 
an  annual  festival,  the  President  issuing  a  procla- 
mation each  year  to  that  effect. 

It  is  our,  one  natIonal_j'elig'ious  festival  that  is 
for  all  the  people  without  regard  to  religious  be- 
lief^ It  is  a  pity,  therefore,  that  this  unity  of 
feeling  should  not  find  a  mutual  expression  in 
some  fitting  celebration  rather  than  being  sacri- 

91 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

ficed  to  sports  that  have  no  meaning  of  the  day 
itself. 

The  schools,  which  are  in  a  way  fitted  to  intro- 
duce the  festival  with  all  its  attendant  feelings 
and  meanings,  will  find  in  Thanksgiving  an  effect- 
ive subject,  for  it  is  descended  from  the  old  har- 
vest festivals,  whether  we  go  back  to  the  Feast  of 
the  Tabernacles  or  stop  at  the  Harvest-Home  in 
England  or  linger  around  the  camp  fires  of  the 
Indians.  Features  of  each  or  all  could  be  used 
with  a  picture  of  that  first  Thanksgiving.  The 
Pilgrims  and  the  Indians,  the  gentle  Priscilla  and 
the  hardy  Miles  Standish,  the  "  First  Settlers  " 
with  their  industries  and  their  prayers  and  their 
songs  would  well  fit  into  this  frame.  Around  it 
is  a  wealth  of  suggestion  that  will  appeal  to  the 
child  in  the  school  and  to  the  parents  in  the  church. 

The  Thanksgiving  Festival  of  the  Training 
School  of  the  Western  State  Normal  School  in 
Michigan,  given  November  28,  191 1,  was  very 
comprehensive  in  linking  together  some  of  these 
different  types  of  traditions  that  hover  around 
Thanksgiving.  They  opened  the  festival  with  a 
song  of  joy  by  the  whole  school,  "  Thanksgiving 
is  here,  Heigh-o,"  which  struck  the  festal  note 
immediately.     To  the  Rural  School  Department 

92 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  FESTA 

and  to  the  Kindergarten  it  was  given  to  show  pic- 
tures in  pantomime  of  the  Thanksgiving  of  To- 
day —  on  The  Farm  and  in  The  Home.  The 
eighth  grade  changed  the  setting  and  the  time 
from  America  of  To-day  to  England  of  Yester- 
day, and  gave  some  of  the  old  customs  of  Har- 
vest-Home, bringing  the  last  sheaf,  dressed  as 
Ceres  in  the  Hock-Cart.  Again  the  harvest  note 
was  struck  in  the  original  song  "  Harvest  "  sung 
by  the  fifth  and  seventh  grades.  The  Hallowe'en 
note  vibrated  but  for  a  moment  in  a  violin  solo, 
"  Snake  Dance."  Some  of  the  harvest  customs 
of  the  Indians  were  presented  by  the  fourth  grade 
in  the  Indian  dance  and  feast  at  which  the  Pipe 
of  Peace  was  smoked.  The  song,  "  The  Lord  is 
My  Shepherd  "  linked  the  savage  religion  with 
the  Christian  religion  and  led  naturally  to  our 
earliest  historical  Thanksgiving,  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  presented  by  the  third  and  sixth 
grades.  This  scene  was  divided  into  two  parts, 
the  Sabbath  processional  and  the  Week-day  fes- 
tivities. In  the  first,  the  children,  led  by  the 
High  Priest,  marched  through  the  audience, 
chanting  an  old  reciprocal  chant.  In  the  second, 
appeared  the  market  place  with  the  booths  in 
which    were    weavers    weaving    their    rugs    and 

93 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

women  selling  pots  and  other  articles.  Between 
the  booths,  on  each  side  of  the  stage,  came  a 
picturesque  processional  of  shepherds  traveling, 
in  accordance  with  divine  ordinance,  to  the  Feast, 
and  after  these  had  passed,  Miriam  and  her 
maidens,  dressed  in  white  and  scarlet  and  yellow, 
danced  a  dance  of  Thanksgiving.  The  festival 
very  fittingly  closed  with  the  doxology  by  the 
school  and  the  guests. 

This  festival  was  so  very  simple  that  it  could 
be  carried  out  by  almost  any  school,  and  there  is 
so  much  material  surrounding  the  autumn  festival 
that  the  variations  possible  are  almost  infinite.  It 
is  easy  to  see  how  full  of  meaning  this  festival 
might  be  made,  leaving  in  the  mind  and  in  the 
heart  of  every  person  its  impress  of  religion  — 
the  religion  of  thanksgiving,  whether  it  be  ex- 
pressed to  the  One  God  by  the  Jews  or  to  the 
Trinity  by  the  Christians,  or  to  the  sun  by  the 
Druids  and  savages,  or  to  the  gods  of  the  Greeks 
and  Norse  and  Romans,  or  to  the  spirits  of  the  air 
and  earth.  It  is  an  expression  of  the  inherent 
trust  and  hope  of  all  people  that  life  which  has 
been  given  must  and  will  be  sustained,  and  that 
creation  and  fertility,  by  the  grace  of  some  Su- 
preme Power  or  powers  will  reign  upon  the  earth. 

94 


G 


PART  III 
jfestal  IfDeritaQe 

4  (  ^^^  O  to  the  circus  ?  Of  course  we'll  go  — 
every  man,  woman  and  child.  Don't 
I  remember  my  childhood?  The 
very  name  '  circus  '  makes  me  feel  desperate,  and 
right  now  I  can  see  paper  hoops  dancing  before 
my  eyes,  and,  jumping  through  them,  clowns  and 
wonderful  diaphanous  figures.  I  smell  the  pink 
lemonade,  and  I  taste  the  burned  peanuts.  Why, 
I'm  worse  than  any  child,  and  always  have  been 
ever  since  that  first  circus." 

We  were  eating  supper  in  an  abbreviated  hotel 
in  a  little  town  of  about  five  hundred,  in  Michi- 
gan. The  meat  was  tough,  the  potatoes  greasy, 
but  we  had  driven  five  miles  from  the  nearest  vil- 
lage and  we  needed  sustenance  for  the  evening 
before  us  —  for  the  Commissioner  was  to  talk  to 
the  Farmers'  Institute  about  the  "  Superior  Ad- 
vantages of  Rural  Boys  over  the  City  Boys,"  and 
I  —  well    I  —  was   to    waste   the    time    of   these 

95 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

hard-headed,  hard-handed,  but  not  hard-hearted, 
farmer  folk  with  fairy  tales ! 

The  Chairman  had  just  come  to  the  Commis- 
sioner to  announce  drearily,  but  with  an  under- 
current of  excitement,  that  there  was  to  be  a  circus 
,the  next  afternoon,  and  should  they  have  the  In- 
stitute or  go  to  the  circus? 

The  Commissioner  had  made  short  work  of 
that  query.  As  he  chuckled  over  his  "  first  cir- 
cus," I  ventured  to  inquire  about  it. 

"  Well,  you  see,"  he  answered,  "  I  lived  on  a 
farm  and  my  father  seemed  to  have  little  interest 
outside  of  that  farm.  I  had  three  brothers  and 
one  sister,  but  he  paid  attention  to  us  only  as  we 
paid  attention  to  the  farm.  We  lived  about  eight 
miles  from  town,  and  one  Saturday  when  we  went 
in  to  get  our  supplies  we  saw  by  the  flaming  bill- 
boards that  a  circus  was  coming.  Well,  from 
that  time  all  life  and  living  centered  in  that  circus, 
and  how  we  could  get  to  it.  We  talked  about 
running  away  —  but  we  knew  we'd  be  caught. 
We  appealed  to  my  father  —  but  it  was  of  no 
use.  After  many  secret  conferences  with  no  re- 
sults, my  sister  suggested  that  we  ask  our  mother 
to  intercede.  We  ran  in  to  her  and  we  begged 
and   we    entreated   so    hard   that   mother    finally 

96 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

promised  to  do  her  best.  Next  morning  father 
told  us  that  if  we  got  the  rest  of  the  potatoes  dug, 
we  could  go.  How  we  worked,  and  watched  the 
sun  as  it  climbed  higher  and  higher  and  our  hearts 
sank  lower  and  lower,  for  we  thought  we'd  never 
make  it.  But  finally  the  potatoes  were  all  dug. 
We  rushed  back  to  the  house  to  find  that  it  was 
half-past  one!  Despair  loomed  large,  I  can  tell 
you,  but  we  determined  to  try  just  the  same.  We 
went  without  lunch,  pulled  on  our  '  best '  clothes, 
and  I  rushed  out  to  harness  up.  I  hurried  so 
with  the  harness  that  it  broke,  being  old,  and 
despair  loomed  larger  than  ever,  but  at  last  we 
all  got  started.  We  drove  up  before  those  won- 
derful flapping  tents  —  to  see  the  people  coming 
out!  And  they  wouldn't  even  let  us  in  to  see  the 
animals!  " 

"  How  mean!  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Yes,"  and  the  Commissioner's  twinkly  eyes 
got  grave,  "  I've  had  some  disappointments  in  my 
life,  but  not  one  as  keen  as  that."  Then  he 
chuckled  again.     "  I  got  even  though  —  nearly. 

"Next  morning,  Bobby  —  he's  my  brother  — 
rushed  up  to  my  room,  and  shook  me.  '  Get  up,' 
he  said,  'the  circus  is  coming!'  When  I  got 
downstairs,  sure  enough,  way  down  the  road,  they 

97 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

were  coming.     Had  to  go  right  by  our  house  on 
the  way  to  the  next  town.     Then  I  thought  hard. 
I  ran  in  the  house  and  down  cellar,   and  got  a 
basket  of  apples.     Bobby  was  close  on  my  heels 
you  may  be  sure,  asking  me  what  I  was  going  to 
do.     '  Hurry  up,'  I  said,  '  help  me  carry  this  out.' 
We  put  it  down  by  the  side   of  the  road,   and 
watched  the  elephants  coming  nearer  and  nearer. 
They  were  almost  to  us.     Our  hearts  began  to 
beat  faster  and  faster.     Would  it  work?     There 
was  just  one  hope.     But  then  —  then  the  first  ele- 
phant stopped,  swung  his  trunk  from  side  to  side, 
and  walked  right  over  to  my  basket,  which  I  care- 
lessly then  dumped  Into  the  road  so  as  to  attract 
the   second   elephant.     Then   their   feast   began. 
Well,  you  see,  the  road  was  narrow  —  and  the 
two  elephants  occupied  the  whole  of  it,  and  so  the 
rest  of  the  circus  had  to  stop,  and  no  prodding 
or   swearing  budged  those   elephants.     So   there 
was  the  whole  circus  right  in  front  of  our  house 
until  the  last  core  of  the  last  apple  was  swallowed 
by  the  last  elephant." 

The  joy  and  bliss  of  the  circus!  It  belongs 
by  right  to  every  child,  and  to  the  child  in 
every  grown-up  —  this  circus  with  its  flapping 
tents  and  steam  calliope,  its  wonderful  prancing 

98 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

horses  and  still  more  wonderful  princesslike  rid- 
ers, its  chariot  races  and  human  skeletons,  its  fat 
women  and  sword-eating  men,  and  all  the  other 
fairylike  wonders  of  the  earth  —  all,  all,  in  this 
one  circus.  And,  oh,  the  smell  of  the  circus  I 
The  peanuts,  the  red  lemonade,  the  tan  bark,  the 
orange  skins  that  the  little  girl  left  from  her 
lunch  !  How  it  Intoxicates  us,  makes  us  forget  our 
troubles,  and  see  again  with  the  eyes  of  child- 
hood. Yes,  that  is  Its  basic  appeal.  That  is  why 
It  has  Hved.  In  it  we  see,  actually  see  the  fairies 
and  the  heroes  of  our  fairy  tales  and  the  wonders 
of  our  Arabian  Nights  made  real  to  us.  It  is  the 
only  place  that  they  are  not  of  shadow  rather  than 
of  substance.  But  here  we  can  laugh  with  them, 
and  we  can  watch  them  breathlessly  as  they 
accomplish  those  wonderful  feats  that  never  were 
on  sea  or  land.  Anything  that  does  this  for  us 
is  a  tradition  worthy  to  be  handed  down  from 
century  to  century  as  has  been  the  circus. 

For  in  Ancient  Rome  the  circus  had  its  origin. 
The  word,  "  circus,"  is  from  the  Latin  meaning 
a  ring,  and  in  Rome  the  circus,  like  the  Greek 
Stadium,  was  a  building  for  the  purpose  of  horse 
and  chariot  races  and  games  and  athletic  sports. 
This  building  had  tiers  of  seats  forming  a  crescent 

99 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

around  one  of  the  ends;  the  other  end  was  straight 
and  contained  the  stalls  for  the  chariots  and 
horses.  The  Circus  Maximus,  in  the  valley  be- 
tween the  Palatine  and  Aventine  hills,  was  the  old- 
est building  of  this  kind  in  Rome.  The  Circisian 
games,  tradition  says,  originated  in  the  time  of 
Romulus  when  they  were  dedicated  to  Consus  or 
Neptune  and  called  Consualia.  After  the  first 
war  of  Tarquin  the  younger,  his  victory  was  cele- 
brated with  games.  A  space  around  the  altar  of 
Consus  was  marked  off  where  the  senators  were 
allowed  to  erect  seats  for  themselves.  As  the 
games  continued  to  be  held  annually,  this  space 
finally  grew  into  the  Circus  Maximus  which  held 
about  250,000  people.  Caesar  enlarged  it  and 
made  a  canal  between  the  lowest  tier  of  seats  and 
the  course,  so  as  to  protect  the  people  from  the 
wild  beasts  in  the  games.  When  these  fighting 
expositions  of  wild  beasts  were  removed  to  the 
amphitheater  Nero  filled  up  the  canal.  The  cir- 
cus was  adapted  principally  for  chariot  races,  that 
climax  of  all  circuses,  whether  modern  or  ancient. 
The  horses  and  the  chariots  and  the  riders  made 
a  brilliant  spectacle.  As  in  our  circus,  there  was 
usually  a  procession  heralding  the  races  them- 
selves In  which  images  of  the  gods  and  of  the  im- 

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FESTAL  HERITAGE 

perial  family  deified  were  drawn  about  in  highly 
decorated  cars  by  horses,  mules  or  elephants. 
This  was  attended  by  the  colleges  of  priests  and 
led  by  the  presiding  majesty  in  the  dress  of  a 
trumpeter.  Next  in  importance  to  the  Circus 
Maximus  was  the  Circus  Flaminius  which  was 
erected  in  221  B.  C.  Nero  made  the  Circus 
Neronis  famous,  of  course,  with  his  pleasures; 
and  there  were  several  other  circuses  of  note 
erected  at  various  times.  In  them,  beside  the 
horse  racing  were  athletic  sports,  such  as  wrest- 
ling and  boxing,  and  sometimes  there  was  repre- 
sented a  regular  battle  and  during  the  time  of  the 
canal,  a  sea  fight  even  was  introduced. 

Nowadays,  although  the  modern  tent  circus  is 
but  the  shadow  of  what  once  was  great,  its  de- 
lights are  not  the  less  pure,  and  one  must  bemoan 
the  fact  that  the  Hippodrome  in  the  larger  cities 
is  more  or  less  taking  its  place.  So  one  other 
tradition  that  belongs  to  the  child,  and  to  the  child 
in  the  man,  is  being  sacrificed  to  the  artificiality 
of  the  city.  For  the  Hippodrome  lacks  most  of 
the  old  traditions.  It  caters  to  those  who  have 
lost  the  key  to  the  box  of  romance  and  hence  are 
bored  with  life;  for  them  the  old-fashioned  circus 
has  no  thrill. 

lOI 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

It  was  not  so  with  our  forefathers  in  New  Eng- 
land. In  the  year  1810  there  went  through  New 
England  the  first  circus !  It  was  a  traveling 
show  of  about  seven  or  eight  people,  mostly 
Italians;  and  was  quite  unlike  either  the  old 
Roman  circus  of  other  days  or  the  Barnum  Circus 
of  to-day,  for  it  did  not  fold  its  tents  in  the  middle 
of  the  night.  It  remained  a  week  or  two  in  a 
town  and  its  "  tent "  was  built  out  of  boards. 
The  performances  had  to  take  place  in  the  after- 
noon because  there  was  no  way  of  lighting  the 
tent  at  night.  The  manager,  keen  to  advertising 
always,  invited  the  young  men  who  were  locally 
noted  for  their  horsemanship  to  share  in  the  open- 
ing act;  and  local  musicians  furnished  most  of  the 
music.  Of  course,  the  Puritan-minded  denounced 
the  performance,  but  the  others  went  to  it,  and 
after  the  music,  breathlessly  watched  the  seven  or 
eight  horsemen  as  they  thrillingly  rode  Into  the 
ring  and  performed  hitherto  unknown  feats  of 
horsemanship.  And  there,  too,  was  the  tumbler 
who  leaped  over  six  horses  and  the  fat  woman 
who  kept  throwing  off  garment  after  garment  as 
she  rode  until  she  became  a  cavaher  all  spangles 
and  ribbons  and  lace. 

Next  to  the  horses,  the  clown  Is  the  greatest 
102 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

delight.  In  the  time  of  Augustus  Czesar  there 
grew  up  in  Italy  a  form  of  entertainment  called 
"  pantomimus,"  which  was  a  sort  of  offshoot  from 
the  Ancient  Roman  tragedy  and  was  confined  to 
dancing  and  songs  and  gesticulating.  These  per- 
formances demonstrated  that  there  was  no  neces- 
sity for  speech  in  order  to  convey  our  thoughts; 
in  fact  their  method  of  communication  sometimes 
went  more  directly  to  the  heart  of  a  simple  peas- 
ant than  when  it  was  interfered  with  by  speech. 
When  the  Roman  glory  decayed,  in  its  debris  was 
carried  these  little  shows  and  not  until  about  the 
fifteenth  century  was  anything  of  the  sort  revived 
there.  Then  Harlequin,  that  charming  vagabond 
of  pantomime,  appeared  as  the  principal  figure. 
On  his  head  he  wore  a  cocked  hat  and  in  his  hand 
he  wielded  a  bat,  whether  fiercely  or  not  his  eyes 
hidden  behind  a  black  mask  did  not  reveal.  As 
the  pantomime  grew  other  characters  entered  in. 
There  had  to  be  a  lover  and  a  loved  one,  and  in 
stepped  pretty  Columbine.  After  her  trailed  her 
father  Pantaloon,  so  called  perhaps  because  of  his 
baggy  trousers,  and  with  him,  in  all  his  antics, 
tumbled  our  old  friend,  the  clown.  Then,  as 
now,  he  was  always  getting  people  into  trouble, 
and  the  play  was  a  series  of  episodes  in  which 

103 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Harlequin  was  continually  protecting   Columbine 
against  Pantaloon  and  the  clown. 

PANTOMIME 

Pantomime  is  a  confused  term  because  it  has 
been  used  In  different  senses  according  to  the  age, 
as  it  was  called  In  Ancient  Rome,  "  pantomlmus," 
and  In  England  was  sometimes  designated  as 
"  dumb-show."  The  modern  pantomime,  par- 
ticularly as  used  In  connection  with  the  English 
stage,  usually  means  a  dramatic  entertainment  In 
which  the  action  is  carried  on  with  the  help  of 
spectacle  and  music  and  dancing,  and  in  which  the 
characters  are  conventional  characters  originally 
derived  from  Italian  masked  comedy. 

Even  to-day  at  Christmas  time  the  children  of 
London  have  their  greatest  delight  In  the  Christ- 
mas pantomime.  There  has  probably  been  no 
break  in  this  enjoyment  from  the  time  of  John 
Rich  who  was  an  inimitable  Harlequin  with  his 
"  frolic  gestures."  In  his  play,  introduced  into 
England  between  1700  and  1723,  Harlequin  ap- 
peared as  the  lover  of  Columbine  and  her  father 
opposed  the  match,  whereupon  Harlequin  with 
the  help  of  the  many  ludricrous  antics  of  the  clown 
carried  her  off.     Thackeray  in  his  Sketches  and 

104 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

Travels  in  London  tells  about  "  A  Night's  Pleas- 
ure "  at  the  Pantomime.  He  says  that  the  over- 
ture of  the  Christmas  pantomime  which  that  night 
was,  "  Harlequin  and  the  Fairy  of  the  Spangled 
Pocket-handkerchief;  or  the  Prince  of  the  En- 
chanted Nose,"  Is  always  for  older  people  a 
"  pleasant  moment  of  reflection  and  enjoyment. 
.  .  .  Perhaps  it  is  because  you  meet  so  many  old 
friends  in  these  compositions  consorting  together 
in  the  queerest  manner  and  occasioning  number- 
less pleasant  surprises.  Hark!  there  goes  'Old 
Dan  Tucker '  wandering  into  the  '  Groves  of 
Blarney ' ;  our  friends  the  '  Scots  wha  hae  wl' 
Wallace  bled '  march  rapidly  down  '  Wapping 
Old  Stairs,'  from  which  the  '  Figlia  del  Reggi- 
mento  '  comes  bounding  briskly,  when  she  Is  met, 
embraced,  and  carried  off  by  '  Billy  Taylor,'  that 
brisk  young  fellow." 

To-day  the  overture  is  of  as  great  Importance, 
and  If  we  do  not  meet  the  old  friends  of  Thack- 
eray we  do  meet  our  own  old  friends.  No  won- 
der then  that  the  children  of  to-day  lean  forward 
In  their  seats  when  the  curtain  rises  and  greet 
their  old  friends  by  name.  "  CIn-der-el-la,"  they 
say,  or,  "  Pe-ter,  Pe-ter,"  or,  "  Wen-dy,"  and 
gasp  and  clap  their  hands  in  delight  to  see  them 

105 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

again;  and  as  for  the  older,  as  Thackeray  says, 
"you  may  be  happy,  perchance;  a  glimpse  of  the 
old  days  may  come  back  to  you.  Lives  there 
the  man  with  soul  so  dead,  the  being  ever  so 
blase  and  travel-worn,  who  does  not  feel  some 
shock  and  thrill  still;  just  at  that  moment  when 
the  bell  (the  dear  and  familiar  bell  of  your 
youth)  begins  to  tinkle,  and  the  curtain  to  rise 
and  the  large  shoes  and  ankles,  the  flesh-colored 
leggings,  the  crumpled  knees,  the  gorgeous  robes 
and  masks  finally,  of  the  actors  ranged  on  the 
stage  to  shout  the  opening  chorus?  " 

To-day  It  may  not  be  "  Harlequin  and  the 
Fairy  of  the  Spangled  Pocket-handkerchief;  or 
the  Prince  of  the  Enchanted  Nose,"  but  it  may  be 
"  The  Sleeping  Beauty,"  or,  "  Jack-and-the-Bean- 
Stalk,"  or  "  Cinderella,"  or,  "  Peter  Pan,"  or  any 
of  the  other  friends  so  dear  to  childhood  that  in 
all  the  more  foolish  years  afterwards  one  never 
meets  their  hke  or  their  equal.  No  Christmas 
pantomime,  it  is  sad  to  state,  brings  the  same  joy 
to  American  children  in  the  midst  of  their  rush 
and  tear  for  giving  and  getting  presents.  And 
yet  there  might  be  played  such  a  simple  panto- 
mime that  even  the  children  in  one  house  could 
bring  again  within  our  doors  the  rule  of  the  fairy 

io6 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

with  her  magic  wand  and  the  enchanted  com- 
pany. 

From  the  time  of  this  play  of  Harlequin  the 
clown  has  belonged  to  the  world  and  there  have 
been  many  famous  ones.  Curiously  enough  in 
real  life  they  were  usually  sad.  It  is  told  of  one 
that  he  made  all  London  laugh  but  he  could  not 
laugh  himself.  Fearing  melancholia,  he  sought 
a  doctor  whose  prescription  was,  "  Go  to  the  cir- 
cus; the  clown  will  make  you  laugh."  To  which, 
with  touching  sadness,  he  replied,  "  I  am  the 
clown."  In  The  Lament  of  a  Pure  Mind,  E.  V. 
Lucas  says:  "  I  met  our  local  circus  clown  once 
(Bimbo  was  his  unforgettable  name),  in  his  own 
everyday  clothes  and  for  a  moment  it  was  as 
though  the  light  had  died  out  of  the  world."  So 
real  are  the  clowns  to  us ! 

In  The  Living  Age  in  1910  appeared  an  arti- 
cle called,  "  The  Passing  of  Pierrot."  It  is  a 
lament  over  the  passing  of  an  immortal  vagabond 
down  the  highways  of  history.  "  He  is,"  says  the 
author,  "  as  it  were,  the  cuckoo  among  immortals. 
He  follows  upon  the  tidal  wave  of  imagination, 
wrecking  old  convictions,  persuading  us  it  is 
Spring  again  and  where  he  has  laid  waste  acres  of 
stale  thought,   fresh,  new  and  surprising  flowers 

107 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

spring  up  and  bloom.  He  stands  for  the  laugh 
with  a  tear  hidden  in  it."  No  one  knew  where 
Pierrot  came  from  with  his  white  face  and  his  hair 
under  a  close  tight  cap,  in  his  great  coat  with  big 
buttons  and  large,  flapping  pantaloons,  but  he  is 
probably  an  imitation  of  Pulcinella  who  made  his 
appearance  about  1600  in  Naples.  Pierrot  was 
adapted  to  the  audiences  of  France  where  he  fre- 
quented their  fairs,  and  was  impersonated  by  art- 
ists of  "  real  talent,"  and  so  he  has  conformed  to 
the  French  character  and  has  become  a  type 
purely  and  absolutely  French.  He  was  the  prin- 
cipal character  in  a  comedy,  "  L'Empereur  dans  la 
Lune,"  and  so  is  the  conventional  figure  for  the 
Man  in  the  Moon.  To  the  maiden  whom  he 
woos  is  given  the  name  Pierrette.  His  compan- 
ions are  a  vagabond  lot.  They  are  not,  "  all  as 
white  as  they  are  painted,"  but  they  teach  us  that 
many  things  which  don't  exist  come  true. 
"  Nothing  is  as  good  as  it  looks."  "  No,"  says 
Pierrot,  "  it's  better."  There  are  sunlight  and 
moonlight  on  the  earth,  and  lovers  and  coquettes 
and  vagabonds,  and  tears  and  laughter  in  the 
forest,  and  primroses  and  violets  in  the  meadows. 
Could  the  Man  in  the  Moon  break  through  the 
hedges  of  our  garden  with  his  vagabond  company 

108 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

he  would  leave,  I  fancy,  a  new  light  on  the  bushes 
and  a  different  color  in  the  flowers. 

Nowhere  in  modern  literature,  I  think,  is  the 
spirit  of  Pierrot  better  manifested  than  in  that 
charming  play,  "  Prunella,"  by  Laurence  Housman 
and  H.  Granville  Barker.  Pierrot  creeps  through 
the  bottom  of  the  hedge  surrounding  the  garden 
where  Prunella  —  afterwards  Pierrette  —  lives, 
hemmed  in  by  her  aunts.  Prim,  Prude,  and  Priv- 
acy. Half-way  through  he  stops.  "  Cuckoo !  " 
he  calls  and  Prunella  fascinated,  approaches  him. 
I  quote  from  the  play : 

Prunella.  {Approaching  him,  half  fascinated.) 
Tell  me  —  what  in  the  world  are  you  ? 

Pierrot.  {Going  on  his  knees  in  a  mock  attitude  of 
prayers  and  talking  very  fast,  as  if  in  a  great  hurry  to  tell 
his  tale  and  get  pardon  for  intruding.)  Oh,  I'm  noth- 
ing; I'm  nothing  in  the  world  but  a  poor  Pierrot.  I'm 
an  orphan,  I  haven't  got  a  home,  I  haven't  got  a  friend, 
I  haven't  got  a  leg  to  stand  on,  I  haven't  got  a  bed  to 
sleep  in,  I  haven't  had  a  bite  to  eat,  and  I  haven't  had  a 
drop  to  drink  for  three  whole  hours.  {Changing  his 
manner,  seeing  that  he  has  made  an  impression  on  her.) 
There,  now  you  know  all  about  me  —  as  much  as  I  know 
myself,  almost.  Oh,  I'm  so  giddy,  I  can't  stand.  If  you 
don't  look  sweet  at  me  I  shall  be  dead  in  a  minute. 

Prunella.  But  how  did  you  come  here?  Who  are 
you? 

109 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Pierrot.  Dropped  like  a  bird.  I'm  the  man  in  the 
moon. 

Prunella.  Don't  be  silly.  There's  no  man  in  the 
moon.     I've  been  taught  that. 

Pierrot.  Ah!  Don't  you  believe  all  the  things  you 
are  told! 

Prunella.     But  that's  in  a  book. 

Pierrot.     Never  read  books.     I  never  do. 

Prunella.     Don't  you  learn  things? 

Pierrot.  I  know  all  that's  worth  knowing.  And 
now  I'll  tell  you  something.  {Draws  nearer  and  looks 
into  her  eyes  while  he  points  to  himself.)  The  moon  has 
a  round  face,  two  eyes,  a  nose,  and  a  mouth.  That's 
science.  You  thought  I  didn't  exist;  but  —  I've  come 
true.     That  often  happens. 

Then  in  troops  his  mixed  lot:  Scaramel,  Hawk, 
Kennel,  Callow,  Mouth,  Doll,  Romp,  Tawdry,  and 
Coquette,  who  help  him  to  transform  Prunella, 
the  Dutch  maiden.  Into  Pierrette.  He  calls  to 
her  In  her  window,  *'  Come  down,  Pierrette,"  and 
Prunella  opens  her  window. 

Prunella.     Who  is  there?     Who  are  you? 
Pierrot.     The  man  in  the  moon. 

Pierrot.  Pierrette,  it  is  already  time  for  us  to  say 
good-by. 

Prunella.     Where  are  you  going  now? 
Pierrot.     To  my  playground,  the  world:  where  the 
no 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

gardens  have  no  hedges  and  the  roses  no  thorns,  and 
where  all  birds  fly  free.  Pierrette,  Pierrette,  come  out 
of  your  cage!     Come  down! 

Prunella.  I  —  I  must!  For  a  moment  —  for  a 
moment  only! 

Pierrot.     Life's  but  a  moment. 

No  wonder  that  Prunella  could  not  say  fare- 
well, but  could  only  answer,  "  I  am  —  Pier- 
rette !  "  while  Love  "  draws  his  bow  and  strikes  a 
triumphant  note." 

In  the  ancient  city  of  Acena  near  Naples,  also 
in  1600  originated.  It  is  said,  the  Punch-and-Judy 
show.  The  Tattler  of  May  15th,  1709,  tells  of 
the  rivalry  between  Robert  Powel's  Puppet-shows 
and  the  play  of  "  Alexander  the  Great "  that  was 
to  be  acted  by  a  company  of  strollers.  The  figures 
in  the  Punch  puppet-shows  were  managed,  usu- 
ally, by  unseen  performers  hidden  below  the  stage 
but  so  fixed  that  they  could  thrust  their  fingers 
within  the  dresses  of  the  puppets  and  move  their 
heads  and  arms.  The  Tattler  says,  "  the  Puppet 
Drummer,  Adam  and  Eve,  and  several  others 
who  lived  before  the  flood,  passed  through  the 
streets  on  horseback,  to  invite  us  all  to  the  pastime 
and  the  representation  of  such  things  as  we  all 

III 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

knew  to  be  true;  and  Mr.  Mayor  was  so  wise  as 
to  prefer  these  Innocent  people,  the  Puppets,  who, 
he  said,  were  to  represent  Christians  before  the 
wicked  players,  who  were  to  shew  Alexander  a 
heathen  philosopher."  So  at  ten  in  the  morning 
all  the  beauty  and  wit  of  Bath  were  there  to  see 
this  puppet-show  which  was  built  up  on  the  old 
Mystery  and  Miracle  plays,  giving  scenes  of  the 
Creation  and  of  the  first  centuries  of  the  world. 
Their  popularity  was  probably  due  somewhat  to 
modern  incongruities  that  slipped  in.  Thus, 
when  Noah's  Flood  came.  Punch  and  his  wife,  as 
Noah  and  his  wife,  were  Introduced  dancing  In 
the  ark! 

Puppets  were  found  in  the  tombs  of  Ancient 
Egypt  and  in  the  tombs  of  Etruria.  In  China 
and  India  they  are  at  the  present  time  made  to  act 
in  dramas  either  as  movable  figures  or  as  shadows 
behind  a  curtain.  The  Shadow  Theater  is  over 
two  thousand  years  old;  for  it  flourished  in  India 
at  the  time  of  Christ,  and  in  the  eleventh  century 
was  very  popular  In  Eastern  Asia  as  it  is  to-day  In 
China  and  Japan,  Slam  and  Java.  The  figures  in 
these  plays  were  made  of  flat  colored  leather  and 
the  light  was  made  to  shine  through  them  with 
the  effect  of  stained  glass.     In  Munich  there  has 

112 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

been  a  reviv^al  of  the  shadow  play  and  its  first 
performance  was  a  piece  that  Goethe  had  written 
for  puppets.  Indeed,  many  famous  writers  have 
given  their  works  to  puppet  plays;  among  them 
Le  Sage  and  Maeterlinck  and  other  French  and 
German  authors  of  high  distinction. 

But  of  all  the  puppets,  the  marionettes  are 
probably  the  most  beloved.  Theophile  Gautier 
suggests  that  In  primitive  times  people  first  adored 
the  tree,  perhaps  as  a  symbol  of  their  god;  then 
this  symbol  grew  into  a  statue;  then  it  was  made 
more  like  life  by  having  clothes;  and  to  carry  the 
realism  of  their  gods  further  the  clever  workmen 
gave  these  figures  movement.  Xenophon  speaks 
of  marionettes.  In  fact  the  Grecian  actors  wear- 
ing huge  masks  were  really  nothing  but  large 
marionettes;  but  the  marionettes  as  we  know 
them  to-day  were  originally  little  images  of  the 
Virgin,  jointed  puppets,  worked  by  hidden  actors 
in  miniature  theaters.  The  word  in  this  sense 
first  occurs  in  1584.  They  were  introduced  from 
Italy  into  France  at  the  time  of  Charles  I  and 
from  there  to  England.  Chaucer,  Shakespeare, 
Jonson,  Pope  and  others  allude  to  them  in  their 
writings.  And  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  first 
idea  of  "  Faust  "  came  from  a  piece  In  a  marion- 

113 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

ette  theater.  These  performances  are  not  for  lit- 
tle ones  alone  as  the  size  of  the  actors  might  in- 
dicate. Indeed,  Anatole  France  says  that  he 
loves  marionettes;  they  have  naive  grace  and  a 
divine  gaucherie.  The  marionettes  of  M.  Sig- 
noret  were  perhaps  the  most  perfected  ones  in  the 
world  and  their  plays  included  dramas  of  Cer- 
vantes and  Aristophanes  as  well  as  those  of 
Shakespeare,  Moliere  and  others.  And  one 
French  monsieur  assured  me  that  in  the  marion- 
ette theaters,  the  theaters  of  classical  plays,  the 
French  children  are  educated ! 

In  a  little  hall  in  New  York  which  one  enters 
through  a  narrow  passage  between  tenement 
houses,  there  is  a  small  stage  at  one  end,  and  be- 
fore it  on  the  level  floor  are  rows  of  crude  benches 
and  chairs.  In  the  evening  the  Italian  people  of 
the  neighborhood  leisurely  stroll  in  and  listen  to 
the  music  which  plays  until  there  are  enough  peo- 
ple to  see  the  show.  Perhaps  it  is  the  Paladins 
of  France  although  this  is  only  one  of  the  seven 
cycles  of  a  Sicilian  epic  of  the  eleventh  century 
which  chronicles  the  deeds  of  Charlemagne  and 
his  army  and  is  founded  on  the  "  Song  of  Roland." 
One  chapter  of  this  epic  is  played  each  night  and 
the  play  itself  lasts  from  two  to  five  years.     In 

114 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

the  caste  are  three  hundred  glorious  figures; 
kings,  queens,  popes,  angels,  devils,  giants,  lions, 
tigers,  horses.  Usually  each  night  the  climax  of 
the  play  is  a  battle  and  frequently  in  it  the  hero 
or  enemy  is  killed,  bringing  tears  to  the  eyes  of 
many  in  the  audience,  for  it  may  be  they  have 
known  him  and  seen  him  for  fifty-five  nights  and 
now  he  will  appear  no  more.  It  is  the  loss  of  a 
friend. 

Perchance  the  announcement  at  the  beginning 
of  the  evening  may  be:  "Now  friends,  we'll 
have  a  terrible  battle  between  the  Christians  and 
Pagans  on  the  walls  of  Rome."  For  all  these 
things  are  of  daily,  not  desultory,  interest  to  these 
Italians.  It  is  a  piece  out  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
What  a  shame  that  the  "  Song  of  Roland  "  at  the 
Marionette  Theater  should  be  replaced  by  the 
Cherry  Sisters  and  a  moving  picture  show;  for 
these  marionettes,  dear  to  the  hearts  of  artists  and 
poets,  of  kings  and  queens,  of  muffin-men  and 
apple-women,  are  a  real  and  sacred  heritage. 

MINSTRELSY 

The  Middle  Ages  were  the  Golden  Ages  of 
minstrelsy  although  minstrels  were  obscurely 
known    from    the    sixth    century.     Bishop    Percy 

"5 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

says,  "  Minstrels  were  an  order  of  men  In  the 
Middle  Ages  who  united  the  arts  of  poetry  and 
music,  and  sang  to  the  harp  of  their  own  compos- 
ing, who  appear  to  have  accompanied  their  songs 
with  mimicry  and  action,  and  who  have  practiced 
such  various  means  of  diverting  as  were  much 
admired  in  those  rude  times  and  supplied  the  want 
of  more  refined  entertainments."  And,  what 
color  and  song  and  poetry  and  history  and  beauty 
the  minnesingers,  the  melstersingers,  the  trou- 
badours and  the  jongleurs  have  preserved  to  us! 
Minstrelsy,  no  doubt,  originated  in  the  songs  of 
the  Teutonic  Gleemen,  those  chanters  of  heroic 
days,  and  In  the  entertainment  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. The  minstrels  form  a  varied  lot.  At  one 
side  are  high  tumblers  and  dancers  and  gross  per- 
formances and  at  the  other  courtly  musicians  and 
singers  and  delicate  entertainments. 

Standing  at  some  well-known  crossroad  one 
might  meet  a  vagabond,  clothed  in  a  grotesque 
habit  so  as  to  attract  a  crowd  with  his  tricks. 
And  what  tricks  they  were;  for  according  to  one 
of  the  craft  a  jongleur  "  must  know  how  to  com- 
pose and  rhyme  well  and  how  to  propose  a  jeu 
parti.  He  must  be  able  to  play  on  the  tambourines 
and  cymbols,  to  throw  and  catch  little  balls  on 

ii6 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

the  point  of  a  knife;  to  imitate  the  song  of  birds; 
to  play  tricks  with  the  baskets;  to  exhibit  attacks 
of  castles  and  leap  through  four  hoops;  to  play 
on  the  citole  and  the  mandore;  to  handle  the 
clavichord  and  the  guitar;  to  string  the  wheel  with 
seventeen  chords;  to  play  on  the  harp;  and  to 
adapt  the  gigue,"  These  magicians  sometimes 
traveled  alone,  sometimes  in  company,  sometimes 
on  horseback,  but  always  they  were  of  the  gay  of 
the  earth.  The  troubadours,  the  mediaeval  poets 
of  Southern  France,  who  flourished  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  twelfth  to  the  end  of  the  fourteenth 
century  were  of  the  court,  and  were  composers 
and  sometimes  singers  of  war  and  of  love.  I 
fancy  that  they  too  were  wizards. 

"  They  say  a  wizard  to  a  Northern  King, 
At  Christmas  time  such  wond'rous  things  did  bring, 
That  through  one  window  men  beheld  the  Spring, 
And  through  another  saw  the  Summer  glow, 
And  through  a  third  the  fruited  vines  a-rovv, 
While  all  unheeded,  but  in  its  wonted  way, 
Piped  the  drear  wind  of  that  December  day." 

So  did  these  figures  of  minstrelsy  bring  Spring 
into  the  hearts  of  men. 

In  Germany  these  lyric  poets,  also  noble,  were 
called  minnesingers.     Of  the  artisan's  class  were 

117 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  meistersingers  who  came  later  and  formed 
guilds  to  revive  the  national  minstrelsy  of  the 
minnesingers.  Their  subjects  were  chiefly  moral 
or  religious.  Hans  Sachs,  the  melsterslnger  cob- 
bler, will  always  be  associated  with  them  as  will 
also  Wagner's  Die  Meistersinger  von  Nurnberg. 
To  these  picturesque  and  typical  romantic  figures 
of  the  Middle  Ages  we  are  Indebted  for  much 
romance  and  chivalry  as  well  as  for  most  of  our 
mediaeval  literature  which  they  helped  to  preserve 
for  us  until  printing  was  invented. 

These  same  Middle  Ages  hold  in  their  annals 
nothing  more  foolish  or  wise  than  the  jesters  and 
fools  who  lived  by  their  wit  or  by  their  weak- 
nesses. Although  this  class  reached  a  recognized 
place  and  function  in  the  social  life  during  this 
time  they  probably  had  existed  at  all  times  and 
In  all  countries.  Indeed,  the  Athenians  had  their 
public  fools  whom  they  called  "  flies "  because 
they  were  free  to  enter  Into  any  banquet  without 
Invitation!  During  the  reign  of  the  Tudors  and 
Stuarts  In  England,  the  jester  was  an  important 
character  not  only  In  the  court  of  the  king  but  In 
the  court  of  any  nobleman.  Although  the  terms, 
"  fool  "  and  "  jester,"  are  used  more  or  less  In- 
terchangeably, the  court  fool  was  either  a  natural 

ii8 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

fool,  or  a  witty  and  artificial  fool;  while  the  jester 
whose  name  was  derived  from  the  old  word, 
"  gest,"  meaning  a  romance  or  story,  was  an  actor 
and  a  minstrel  as  well  as  a  "  fool."  The  dress  of 
the  regular  court  fool  was  more  or  less  conven- 
tional. The  head  was  shaved,  the  coat  was  mot- 
ley, the  breeches  were  tight,  and  the  legs  differed 
in  color.  Some  garment,  looking  like  a  monk's 
cowl,  covered  the  head  and  frequently  had  asses' 
ears,  while  on  the  top  was  a  coxcomb.  The  fool's 
bauble  was  a  short  staff  on  the  top  of  which  was 
a  ridiculous  head.  Shakespeare  has  made  the 
fools  famous  in  his  plays,  and  some  of  the  jesters 
of  the  court  were  writers  of  no  mean  talent  them- 
selves. They  were  probably  the  only  class  who 
at  that  time  dared  to  tell  the  truth.  Some  super- 
stition decreed  that  deformity  in  fools  or  jesters 
was  potent  and  therefore  their  ugliness  was  con- 
sidered beauty.  The  wider  the  mouth,  the  longer 
the  nose,  the  deeper  the  eyes,  the  bigger  the 
hump,  the  more  perfect  was  the  fool. 

The  fashion  has  changed;  the  fools  and  the 
jesters  belong  to  the  court  no  more,  for  Muckle 
John,  the  fool  of  Charles  I,  was  the  last  official 
fool  of  England;  but  "  motley  "  still  reigns,  for  a 
laugh  is  better  than  a  tear,  joy  is  better  than  sor- 

119 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

row,  and  the  wisdom   of   fools  is   often  greater 
than  that  of  wise  men. 

THE   MUMMERS 

Among  later  traditional  groups  in  England  that 
have  brought  down  to  us  their  gifts  are  the  Mum- 
mers and  the  Robin  Hood  Group.  (The  latter 
were  described  in  the  May-games.)  The  Mum- 
mers, or  in  Scotland,  the  Guisers  or  Guizards,  as 
they  are  called,  are  still  to  be  found  at  certain 
seasons  in  parts  of  England  and  Scotland.  The 
word  "  mummer "  is  derived  from  the  Danish, 
mumme,  or  from  the  Dutch,  momme,  and  is  syn- 
onymous with  masker.  Their  chief  performance 
from  time  immemorial  has  been  a  play  whose  plot 
contained  the  battle  between  St.  George  and  the 
Dragon.  They  are  the  merriest  sort  of  revelers, 
disguised  In  masks  the  most  grotesque  that  can  be 
imagined  and  selected  according  to  the  characters. 
The  music  which  they  sing  is  of  no  tune  and  every 
tune.  At  Christmas  time  or  on  New  Year's  Day 
or  on  the  first  Monday  in  the  year,  these  revelers 
would  go  about  from  house  to  house  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  their  dire  music,  and  with  "  tragical 
mirth,"  arriving  at  the  door,  would  claim  the  privi- 
lege of  Christmas  in  the  admission  of  St.  George 

1 20 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

and  his  Merrymen.  First  would  enter  Old  Fa- 
ther Christmas,  perhaps  dressed  in  a  fur  cap,  fur 
gloves,  long  red  coat,  top  boots,  wig  and  beard  of 
long  white  hair,  with  nose  reddened;  or  else  a 
grotesque  mask  put  over  the  whole  face.  Then 
the  play  began. 

Here  come  I,  Old  Father  Christmas, 

Christmas  or  not, 
I  hope  Old  Father  Christmas 

Will  never  be  forgot. 
A  room  —  make  room  here,  gallant  boys, 

And  give  us  room  to  rhyme, 
We're  come  to  shew  activity 

Upon  a  Christmas  time. 

Acting  youth  or  acting  age, 
The  like  was  never  acted  on  this  stage; 
If  you  don't  believe  what  I  now  say, 

Enter  St.  George,  and  clear  the  way. 
{Enter  ST.   GEORGE ) 
Here  come  I,  St.  George,  the  valiant  man. 

With  naked  sword  and  spear  in  hand, 
Who    fought    the    dragon    and    brought    him    to    the 

slaughter. 
And  for  this  won  the  king  of  Egypt's  daughter. 
What  man  or  mortal  will  dare  to  stand 

Before  me  with  my  sword  in  hand; 
I'll  slay  him  and  cut  him  as  small  as    wes, 
And  send  him  to  Jamaica  to  make  mince  pies. 

121 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

{.Enter  a  TURKISH  knight) 
Here  come  I,  a  Turkish  knight, 
In  Turkish  Land,  I  learned  to  fight, 
I'll  fight  St.  George  with  courage  bold, 
And  if  his  blood's  hot,  will  make  it  cold. 

(sT.  George) 
If  thou  art  a  Turkish  Knight,  draw  out  thy  sword, 

and  let  us  fight. 
{A  battle  follows  in  which  after  a  grotesque  play  the 
Turkish  Knight  falls  and  St.  George  is  struck  with  re- 
morse.) 

(sT.  George) 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 
You've  seen  what  I've  done, 
I've  cut  this  Turk  down, 
Like  the  evening  sun ; 
Is  there  any  doctor  that  can  be  found. 
To  cure  this  knight  of  his  deadly  wound? 

(Enter  a  doctor  with  a  huge  pill  box.) 
(the  doctor) 
Here  come  I,  a  doctor, 
A  ten-pound  doctor. 
I've  a  little  bottle  in  my  pocket, 
Called  hokum,  shokum,  Alicampane; 
I'll  touch  his  eyes,  nose,  mouth,  and  chin, 
And  say;  "  Rise,  dead  man,"  and  he'll  fight  again. 
{After    the    doctor    administers    to    him    the    Turkish 
knight  leaps  up.) 

(st.  George) 
Here  am  I,  St.  George,  with  shining  armor  bright, 

122 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

I  am  a  famous  champion,  also  a  worthy  knight; 

Seven  long  years  in  a  close  cave  was  kept, 

And  out  of  that  into  a  prison  leaped. 

From  out  of  that  into  a  rock  of  stones, 

There  I  laid  down  my  grevious  bones. 

Many  a  giant  did  I  subdue. 

And  ran  a  fiery  dragon  through. 

I  fought  the  man  of  Tillotree, 

And  still  will  gain  the  victory. 

First,  then,  I  fought  in  France, 

Second,  I  fought  in  Spain, 

Thirdly  I  came  to  Temby, 

To  fight  the  Turk  again. 

(The  fight  follows  as  before,  the  Turk  is  vanquished 
and  the  doctor  revives  him.  Oliver  Cromwell  en- 
ters. ) 

(OLIVER  Cromwell) 

Here  come  I,  Oliver  Cromwell, 
As  you  may  suppose, 

Many  nations  I  have  conquered, 
With  my  copper  nose. 

I  made  the  French  to  tremble. 

And  the  Spanish  for  to  quake, 

I  fought  the  jolly  Dutchman, 

And  made  their  hearts  to  ache. 

(Enter  beelzebub) 
Here  come  I,  Beelzebub  — 

Under  my  arm  I  carry  a  club. 

Under  my  chin  I  carry  a  pan. 

Don't  I  look  a  nice  young  man? 
123 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

This  ends  the  play,  all  except  the  epilogue 
which  to  the  Mummers  is  a  very  important  one 
for  Beelzebub,  taking  his  pan  and  holding  it  in  his 
hand,  says: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 

Our  story  is  ended, 
Our  money-box  is  recommended, 
Five  or  six  shillings  will  not  do  us  harm, 
Silver,  or  copper,  or  gold  if  you  can. 

Then  he  passes  the  pan  around  and  if  the  re- 
sponse is  not  adequate  he  uses  the  weapon  in  his 
hand.  And  singing  and  reveling  in  antics  and 
glee  they  go  on  to  repeat  their  performance  at 
another  place. 

This  play  can  be  carried  on  with  three  people, 
each  person  taking  two  parts.  The  costumes  can 
be  easily  adapted  from  the  content  of  the  text; 
and  the  more  grotesque  they  are  the  more  success- 
ful are  the  Mummers.  The  play  here  given  is 
from  the  South  of  Wales  but  it  differs  very  little 
from  the  version  used  anywhere  in  England  or 
Scotland.  In  some  of  the  versions  other  charac- 
ters are  substituted  but  the  plot  remains  practi- 
cally the  same. 

Familiar  as  it  was  in  England  I  think  it  is  not 

124 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

generally  known  that  it  was  a  feature  of  Boston 
life  in  the  early  nineteenth  century. 

THE    SPIRIT    OF    OLD    WORLD    FESTIVALS 

In  Tuscany  is  a  city  lifted  upon  a  hill.  Over 
it  the  bluest  sky  forms  a  canopy  and  the  purest 
light  shines  over  "  horizons  magnificent  and  vast 
open  upon  the  eye."  Legend  says  that  Senio,  the 
son  of  Remus,  when  he  fled  from  the  wrath  of 
Romulus  stopped  on  the  hill  where  Siena  now 
stands  and  built  himself  a  castle.  Since  that  time 
Siena  has  been  a  privileged  city.  At  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century  it  was  a  republican  govern- 
ment and  with  the  other  cities  of  Italy  fought 
many  fights,  battling  through  four  centuries  with 
Florence.  Siena  has  had  many  noted  citizens; 
the  bold  Alexander  III  and  the  meek,  courageous 
St.  Catherine  among  others.  Here,  all  the  peo- 
ple are  ardent  and  impetuous,  capable  of  great 
exultation.  They  have  a  lively  fancy,  they  are 
born  artists,  and  so  they  love  song  and  dance  and 
athletic  competition.  Siena  reached  its  height  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  but  the  great  pest  reduced 
her  people  from  one  hundred  thousand  to  twenty 
thousand  and  Siena  never  fully  recovered.  To- 
day she  is  one  of  the  best  examples  remaining  to 

125 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

us  of  mediaeval  cities,  for  she  is  as  mediaeval  as 
are  her  cathedrals  and  her  paintings. 

The  fervid  spirit  of  the  people  breaks  out  how- 
ever with  great  feeling  at  the  time  of  the  Palio 
which  is  a  mediaeval  horse  race.  The  word, 
"  palio,"  comes  from  the  Latin,  pallium,  and 
originally  meant  the  banner  for  which  the  race 
was  run,  and  afterwards  came  to  be  associated 
with  the  race  Itself.  This  race  dates  from  the 
thirteenth  century  and  Is  closely  connected  with 
the  history  of  the  city,  religious,  social  and  civic. 
Now  Siena  was  particularly  devoted  to  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Virgin,  for  In  times  of  great  need  they 
thought  that  the  Virgin  had  brought  about  the 
miraculous  victories;  hence  they  dedicated  them- 
selves and  their  powers  to  her  that  she  might 
watch  over  them.  Naturally,  the  festivals  be- 
longing to  her,  the  Feast  of  the  Visitation  on  July 
2,  and  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption  in  mid-August 
assumed  particular  Importance,  both  patriotic  and 
religious.  It  speaks  much  for  these  elemental 
feelings  that  the  Palll,  the  races  run  to  celebrate 
these  feasts,  are  still  held,  adhering  In  many  details 
to  their  celebration  in  mediaeval  times.  Probably 
in  the  earliest  of  these  races  the  sports  were  rude 
in  character,  but  In  the  sixteenth  century  the  Terzi 

126 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

were  subdivided  into  a  number  of  Contrade,  or 
wards,  so  that  the  splendor  and  importance  of 
these  pubHc  games  might  be  increased.  When 
competition  entered  in,  the  pageantry  became  very 
much  more  briUiant  and  resulted  In  the  modern 
Palio.  But  those  Palii  that  were  run  In  honor  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  date  from  the  year  1238  and 
were  held  on  August  15,  which  is  the  Feast  of  the 
Assumption.  At  first  they  were  run  outside  the 
walls.  Then,  that  there  might  be  more  thrill, 
they  were  brought  Inside  and  made  to  run  around 
a  cramped,  winding  and  difficult  course.  After 
the  fifteenth  century  the  horses  sometimes  ran 
alone  without  riders,  having  to  get  over  the  canvas 
barriers  which  were  stretched  across  the  streets  as 
best  they  could,  thus  adding  to  the  Interest  of  the 
race. 

In  1 70 1  there  arose  a  custom  whereby  if  the 
victor  chose  he  could  offer  a  cup  which  should  be 
raced  for  on  the  following  day,  so  that  the  cele- 
bration of  August  16  became  quite  as  regular  as 
that  of  August  15  and  it  has  inherited  the  hoary 
customs  belonging  to  the  original  Palio  that,  un- 
fortunately, about  half  a  century  ago  was  aban- 
doned. However,  In  this  "  modern  "  Palio  the 
customs  are  ancient  and  It  is  really  the  lineal  de- 

127 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

scendant  of  the  old  Palio  with  features  almost  un- 
changed except  in  heightened  color. 

As  in  the  old  Palio  there  is  a  brilliant  pageant 
preceding  the  race  when  the  companies  of  the  dif- 
ferent contestants,   wonderful   in  their  mediseval 
trappings  and  livery,  with  banners  and  prestige  of 
the    old    mediaeval    pageant,    wind    through    the 
streets.      In  it  are   such  figures  representing  the 
wards    as    Lupa,    the    wolf;    Oca,    the    goose; 
and  others  of  like  allegorical  or  traditional  mean- 
ing.    In   the    morning   of   the   third   day   before 
the    races,    many    horses    of    every    description, 
from  old  nags  which  have  drawn  carts  to  horses 
which  have  honored  noblemen,  disappear  one  by 
one    inside    the    gates    of   the    Palazzo    Publico. 
They  are  going  to  take  their  chances  before  those 
officials  who  are  to  choose  the  ten  horses  to  run 
the  race  for  that  year.     Any  horse  that  has  a  little 
spirit  may  have  a  chance  of  being  accepted  among 
the  ten,  for  this  race  is  not  always  to  the  swift. 
It  is  run,  as  of  old,  on  the  most  difficult  track,  and 
it  is  a  part  of  the  race  that  the  riders  should  try  to 
defeat  the   other  riders  by  attacking  them  with 
heavy  riding  whips.     It  is  inevitable  that  the  one 
who  is  ahead  should  get  the  brunt  of  this  attack. 
There  was  one  old  horse,  it  is  said,  who  was  not 

128 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

swift,  but  was  wise  from  habit.  For  many  years 
it  had  been  chosen  among  the  ten  and  it  knew 
the  track  and  the  turns  and  the  corners  so  well 
that  it  ran  no  danger  of  slipping.  As  it  grew 
older,  however,  it  could  not  win  with  the  extra 
weight  of  the  rider.  So  it  was  secretly  arranged 
with  the  rider  that  at  the  first  turn  he  should  fall 
off,  and  unburdened,  the  horse  continued  its  race 
and  came  in,  as  usual,  the  winner.  The  owners 
of  these  horses  do  not  ride  them  and  the  riders 
must  accept  the  horses  that  fall  to  them.  This 
"  lottery  "  Is  arranged  in  a  curious  way.  Ten 
wards  of  the  city  only  are  represented  and  these 
are  determined  by  rotation  and  by  lot.  The 
captains,  who  represent  the  Contrade  both  In  se- 
lecting the  horses  and  in  choosing  the  riders,  put 
the  names  of  the  riders  in  one  urn  and  the  num- 
bers of  the  horses  in  another.  A  number  is 
drawn  from  the  second  urn  first  and  then  the  name 
of  a  rider  from  the  first  urn.  The  choice  may 
bring  great  disappointment  or  great  joy  to  the 
rider  according  to  the  horse  which  he  has  drawn. 
Then  there  are  several  trial  races  before  the  Palio 
itself.  Because  this  race  was  run  In  honor  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  on  the  morning  of  the  festival  high 
mass  is  sung  In  the  cathedral.     All  day  long  the 

129 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

peasant  folk  In  their  holiday  attire  come  in  and 
the  society  dames  appear  before  the  race  in  their 
most  brilliant  coloring.  At  two  o'clock  the  horse 
is  taken  by  its  rider  and  by  the  members  of  that 
ward  which  is  represents  (for  feeling  and  rivalry 
run  very  high),  to  the  parish  church  to  receive  the 
priestly  blessing.  This  service,  in  spite  of  its 
seeming  incongruity  to  us,  is  reverent  in  its  sim- 
plicity. The  priest  in  his  robes  stands  at  the  foot 
of  the  high  altar  and  receives  the  horse  as  it  is 
led  forward.  The  people  make  the  responses  to 
the  few  short  Latin  prayers,  and  then  the  priest 
asks  a  benediction  on  the  horse :  "  Let  this  animal 
receive  thy  blessing,  O  Lord,  whereby  it  may  be 
preserved  in  body  and  freed  from  every  harm  by 
the  intercession  of  the  blessed  Anthony;  through 
Christ  our  Lord,  Amen."  The  priest  then  sprin- 
kles holy  water  on  the  horse  and  it  is  led  out 
ready  for  the  race. 

It  is  a  little  after  six  o'clock  when  the  pageant 
starts.  At  the  head  is  the  representative  of  the 
commune,  the  standard  bearer,  mounted  on  his 
horse,  who  carries  the  great  black  and  white  ban- 
ner of  the  city.  Then  come  the  trumpeters  in  the 
livery  of  the  Palazzo.  Each  ward  has  a  captain 
In  dazzling  cuirass  and  helmet,  followed  by  two 

130 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

Alfieri  in  jolly  doublets  and  hose,  who  carry  the 
banners.  Then  come  five  pages;  a  drummer,  and 
a  fantino  on  horseback;  and  a  barbaresco  who  is 
to  lead  the  horse  that  has  been  chosen  for  the 
contest,  and  after  all  the  horses  with  their  attend- 
ant splendor  have  passed,  a  reproduction  of  the 
war-chariot  which  was  taken  from  Florence  in  the 
year  1260  and  which  is  Siena's  most  memorable 
trophy  forms  the  fitting  climax  to  this  mediaeval 
pomp. 

With  all  this  rivalry  and  with  all  this  brilliance 
attending  it,  something  of  the  spirit  of  the  Palio 
can  be  imagined;  and  after  the  silken  banner 
which  is  the  reward  given  to  the  victor  has  been 
presented,  and  after  the  horse  has  been  taken  to 
the  church  so  that  the  "  ward "  might  render 
thanks  where  thanks  are  due,  Siena  remains  en 
fete  for  the  rest  of  the  night. 

GUATEMALA  CITY  FETE 

In  the  old  Spanish-American  Guatemala  City 
there  are  many  churches  with  numerous  monaster- 
ies and  convents  under  their  eaves.  It  isn't 
strange,  therefore,  that  here,  at  Easter  time,  one 
should  find  the  story  of  the  Passion  made  vivid 
and  vital   to  the   inhabitants.     To  one  who  has 

131 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

seen  the  Passion  Play  at  Oberammergau,  it  might 
be  difficult  to  trace  any  connection  between  one  so 
finished  and  one  so  very  primitive;  and  yet  out  of 
such  as  this  at  Guatemala  City  did  the  perfection 
of  the  Oberammergau  folk  play  come.  If  this 
one  has  remained  but  a  small  beginning  and  has 
not  developed  into  the  finish  of  an  art,  it  is  of  all 
the  more  value  to  us  because  it  makes  us  realize 
the  "  glory  of  the  imperfect  "  and  we  understand 
better  the  faith  of  the  simple  primitive  folk;  that 
faith  that  has  been  so  enduring  that  It  has  pre- 
served a  religion  to  us. 

In  the  week  before  Easter,  on  the  day  in  which 
the  event  first  occurred,  is  a  pageant  depicting 
that  event.  For  instance,  on  the  day  in  which, 
according  to  the  Holy  Scripture,  Christ  celebrated 
the  Lord's  Supper,  through  the  streets  is  borne 
a  platform  on  which  is  a  crude  representation  of 
The  Last  Supper.  There  is  a  processional  pre- 
ceding it  and  following  it  but  this  forms  the 
chief  event  for  that  day.  Around  the  table  are 
seated  Christ  and  his  Disciples.  They  have  not 
been  selected  for  that  honor;  they  have  paid  for 
it.  The  man  who  pays  the  most  money  gets  the 
most  coveted  character  and  so  on  down.  And 
Judas  is  not  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  I     On  an- 

132 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

other  day  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane  are  the  principal  pictures  and  so  on 
through  the  Passion  week. 

Many  thousand  robes  are  owned  by  the  church 
for  use  in  these  processions  and  some  of  them, 
particularly  those  of  Pontius  Pilate  and  his  at- 
tendants, are  very  gorgeous.  In  the  pageant, 
too,  on  a  crude  shutter  is  carried  a  very  large 
papier-mache  sword  as  a  symbol  of  that  sword 
that  cut  off  the  ear  of  a  servant  attending  the 
High  Priest.  And  on  another  shutter  is  the  sym- 
bol of  the  ear  itself.  So  are  these  features  rep- 
resented in  the  pageant.  So  are  the  swords  and 
the  crown  of  thorns  and  the  purple  gowns  and  the 
reeds  with  which  they  smote  Him  and  the  wine 
mingled  with  myrrh  and  the  rent  Veil  of  the  Tem- 
ple made  real  to  these  people.  And  they  see  also 
the  sepulcher  and  the  stone  that  was  rolled  away 
and  the  linen  in  which  the  body  was  wrapped. 
And  all  the  Beloved  and  all  the  Mistaken  are 
visible  to  their  eyes! 

On  Easter  morning,  very,  very  early  in  the 
morning,  those  in  the  Passion  Play  celebrate  mass, 
and  then  follows  the  pageant  with  many  thou- 
sands of  people  symbolizing  this  greatest  Passion 
play  in  history.     Miles  and  miles  do  they  march, 

133 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

and  all  the  time,  In  all  the  churches  of  the  city, 
there  is  a  strange  penetrating  noise  beating  at 
regular  Intervals  the  knell  and  the  sorrow  over 
the  death  of  the  Beloved,  until  It  seems  fairly  to 
beat  Its  way  Into  the  heart.  At  ten  o'clock  they 
have  arrived  before  the  doors  of  the  cathedral 
which  is  filled  with  people  of  all  degrees.  There 
is  the  beggar  maid  whose  only  clothing  is  the  scarf 
around  her  waist,  and  there  is  the  woman  of  high 
degree  with  laces  and  jewels  from  every  land. 
Side  by  side  they  watch  this  soul-pageant  enter  the 
church.  Then,  suddenly,  there  comes  a  pause. 
The  knell  has  stopped.  After  Its  beating  it  seems 
as  If  the  universe  has  hushed  for  a  moment,  until 
with  one  mighty  frenzy  of  exaltation  the  choir  and 
the  people  burst  Into  the  Te  Deum  while  all  the 
bells  In  the  city  ring  out  their  tidings  of  love,  and 
beggar  maids  and  ladies  of  high  degree,  and 
monks  and  artisans,  sink  to  their  knees  In  a  frenzy 
of  faith  and  hope  and  love. 

All  this  is  attained  by  methods  so  crude  that 
without  the  spirit  and  the  simplicity  of  the  folk, 
it  would  be  ludicrous.  And  so  near  Is  the  religion 
of  these  primitive  people  to  their  everyday  life 
that  it  seems  to  hold  nothing  of  incongruity  to 

134 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

them  when  they  spend  the  rest  of  the   days   at 
feasts  and  at  bullfights !  ^' 

THE    FESTIVAL    PLAY    AT    ROTHENBIIRG    ON    THE 
TAUBER  ^ 

Riding  through  the  wheat  fields  of  Germany 
made  red  with  poppies  and  blue  with  corn-flowers, 
close  to  the  frontier  of  Wiirttemberg,  one  might 
think  one  saw  a  mirage.  Bathed  in  the  light  of 
the  sun  seems  to  be  a  mediaeval  city  surrounded 
by  massive  walls,  many  turreted!  But  the  mi- 
rage would  fade  into  reality  when  as  one  goes 
nearer,  the  old  woman  comes  out  of  the  tower  to 
collect  the  few  pfennigs  that  must  be  paid  before 
one  cg»-«nter  into  the  outer  or  inner  gates  of  this 
red  city.  If  it  should  happen  to  be  Whitmonday, 
the  traveler  would  be  sure  that  some  elf  had 
turned  back  the  hands  of  the  clock  to  the  seven- 
teenth century  for  the  gates  are  guarded.  Around 
the  churchyard  and  the  towers  and  inside  the 
gates  are  picturesque  groups  of  soldiers.  On  a 
rise  of  ground,  dressed  in  scarlet  and  gold  and 
with  barbaric  weapons,  are  groups  of  Croatians 
on  horseback.  Grouped  around  camp  fires  are 
soldiers  drinking  and  singing,  playing  tricks  and 

135 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

games  with  cards,  and  going  through  many  a 
merry  step.  Near  are  some  curious  cannon  be- 
longing to  the  seventeenth  century,  and  stranger 
than  all  they  look  as  if  they  were  getting  ready 
to  make  an  attack!  Inside,  the  streets  are 
swarming  with  soldiers  in  steel  caps  and  leathern 
jerkins.  These  are  the  Rothenbergers  them- 
selves. Occasionally  they  pass,  or  mingle  with, 
soldiers  in  blue  and  white  —  Swedish  soldiers 
from  the  garrison.  The  atmosphere  seems  sur- 
charged, for  armor-clad  horsemen  gallop  through 
the  narrow  and  uneven  streets.  And  by  the  pub- 
lic fountain,  no  women  are  washing  their  clothes, 
and  the  market  place  is  filled  with  guards  and 
soldiers  rather  than  with  food  and  merchandise. 
From  the  winding  staircase,  opening  into  the 
middle  of  the  colonnade  of  the  town  hall,  hasten 
some  of  the  Guard,  and  a  sentinel  paces  up  and 
down  in  front  of  the  "  new  "  court  house  which 
was  built  into  the  old  court  house  in  1572.  In 
the  council  room  of  the  Rathhaus  Is  a  picture, 
"  Tilly's  Entrance  into  Rothenburg."  See!  The 
soldiers  in  that  picture  are  those  outside  the  walls ! 
Yes,  they  are  the  same,  for  the  date  is  not  the 
nineteenth  century;  it  is  September,  1631.  The 
Thirty  Years'  War  is  in  full  battle,  and  outside 

136 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

the  walls  are  Tilly's  vanguard^  for  Rothenburg 
has  declared  itself  for  Sweden,  In  this  old  coun- 
cil hall,  where  on  the  first  of  May  each  year  the 
citizens  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Republic, 
and  where  the  emperors  were  welcomed,  is  a 
table  and  near  it  is  an  anxious  citizen.  It  Is 
Johann  Bezold,  the  Burgomaster.  He  is  talking 
to  some  of  the  senators.  He  has  slept  very 
badly,  he  says,  the  siege  and  the  battering  which 
has  destroyed  a  part  of  the  wall  has  oppressed 
him.  The  citizens  have  been  brave  —  even  the 
women  and  the  children  have  fought,  keeping  the 
soldiers  supplied  with  stones  and  ammunition  to 
use  against  the  enemy  who  have  tried  to  scale  the 
walls.  But  Tilly  himself  with  his  main  army  of 
more  than  forty  thousand  men  is  without.  Is  it 
wise  to  continue  resistance?  He  must  consult 
with  his  colleagues.  In  answer  to  his  call,  the 
butler's  daughter,  Anna,  dressed  in  an  old  Ger- 
man bodice  with  a  bewitching  cap  and  a  short 
skirt,  comes  to  answer  his  command,  and  a  mo- 
ment after  she  has  left,  the  bell  that  summoned 
in  time  of  emergency,  begins  to  ring.  The  sen- 
ators and  burgomasters,  in  peaked  hats  and  long 
black  gowns  to  which  their  heavy  gold  chains  lend 
an  added  touch  of  dignity,  come  In  hurriedly  and 

137 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

anxiously.  As  they  start  to  take  counsel  together, 
there  is  a  terrific  bang.  Rickenberg,  the  cap- 
tain of  the  garrison,  hurries  in  to  announce  that 
help  is  approaching.  Some  recruits  with  new 
courage  start  from  the  chamber  to  defend  the 
walls.  The  Rector,  followed  by  some  of  the 
burgomasters,  seeks  aid  in  prayer  at  the  church, 
and  when  through  the  open  window  of  the  hall, 
the  organ  and  the  choral  in  the  church  sounds, 
the  members  of  the  council  reverently  join  in. 
They  are  interrupted,  however,  by  messengers 
from  the  walls.  The  walls  are  being  broken, 
they  say,  but  on  the  road  from  Wiirzburg  is  ap- 
proaching a  large  body  of  troops.  It  must  be 
Gustavus  Adolphus.  If  they  can  only  hold  out 
the  town  will  be  saved.  And  although  the  bang- 
ing continues,  it  does  not  shake  their  courage  un- 
til suddenly,  there  is  a  terrific  explosion  followed 
by  a  terrible  cry,  with  the  almost  simultaneous 
announcement  from  a  wounded  messenger  who 
staggers  into  the  hall,  that  the  troops  approaching 
on  the  highway  are  not  Swedish  but  Imperial ! 
And  then,  ex-Burgomaster,  Georg  Nusch,  enters 
to  announce,  with  bowed  head,  that  the  white  flag 
is  out !     Tilly  is  entering  the  town. 

Amid  the  cries  of  the  women  in  the  market 
138 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

place,  begging  Tilly  for  mercy,  the  burgomasters 
get  out  the  keys  of  the  town  gates  laid  on  the 
velvet  cushion,  and  the  casket  which  held  their 
city's  charter,  and  with  dignified  defeat  stand 
ready  to  greet  Tilly.  Heralded  by  his  Guard 
singing  an  old  seventeenth  century  battle  song, 
"  Heil  Tilly !  "  he  comes  clanking  up  the  steps, 
followed  by  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  the  Count  of 
Pappenheim,  and  other  generals  in  gorgeous  rai- 
ment. He  is  angry,  very  angry.  He  throws 
down  his  gloves  on  the  table  as  if  it  were  a  chal- 
lenge; he  turns  and  snaps  at  the  people  who  come 
crying  and  screaming  up  the  steps  hunted  by  the 
cruelty  of  his  soldiers,  ordering  them  driven  back 
even  at  the  point  of  the  lance.  Then  he  faces  the 
burgomasters.  He  demands  his  indemnity,  and 
with  grim  humor  suggests,  nay,  demands,  that  the 
Council  select  four  of  their  number  to  be  killed. 
The  burgomasters  refuse  to  be  divided.  It  is 
mercy  for  all  or  for  none.  So,  Tilly  sends  for 
the  executioner. 

It  is  an  inspired  thought  that  comes  to  Anna 
who  suggests  In  a  whisper  to  her  father  that  he 
bring  the  large  goblet  filled  with  the  best  old  wine 
In  the  vaults  of  the  Rathhaus  as  a  welcome  to  the 
generals.     The    Butler,    being    wise,    brings    In 

139 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  Cup  of  the  Council,  which  held  many  pints, 
and  the  subtle  wine  warming  Tilly's  blood,  and 
incidentally,  his  heart,  he  thinks  of  mercy.  His 
mercy,  however,  takes  an  astonishing  form.  If 
any  among  the  burgomasters  will  empty  this  old 
flagon  at  one  single  draught  he  will  save  his  own 
life  and  that  of  his  companions.  His  mercy  is 
received  with  scorn.  The  feat  is  an  impossible 
one !  Then  the  execution  must  go  on,  is  the  ver- 
dict of  Tilly.  But  not  so!  ex-Burgomaster 
Nusch  steps  forward.  He  is  an  old  man  and  can 
but  die  anyway.  He  will  try.  It  means  the  life 
of  his  friends!  Lifting  the  flagon  to  his  lips, 
while  In  the  anxiety  of  life  or  death  the  Council 
watch  him,  he  drains  It  to  Its  last  drop  and  de- 
mands from  Tilly  that  the  life  of  the  burgomas- 
ters be  spared.  The  headsman  is  sent  away,  and 
the  populace  burst  into  song. 

From  the  Freudengasschen,  the  street  of  joy 
(named  so  because  of  the  events  of  this  day), 
they  come  to  form  their  pageant,  the  climax  of 
the  day.  As  it  was  arranged  by  an  artist,  this 
pageant,  which  consists  of  about  three  hundred 
people  clad  In  the  correct  costume  of  the  period, 
is  a  most  beautiful  and  Imposing  one.  First  ap- 
pear: 

140 


FESTAL  HERITAGE 

Two  armored  horse-soldiers;  four  mounted 
trumpeters;  four  pages  carrying  a  tablet  with  an. 
inscription;  the  city-girls;  Rothenburga,  Ursula 
Bezold  and  Magdalena  Hirsching,  the  Burgo- 
master's niece,  with  her  two  children,  in  a  deco- 
rated car,  drawn  by  four  horses;  the  Senate;  the 
Butler  with  his  cart;  the  executioner;  Young 
Staud  with  the  "  Young  troop  ";  Rickenberg,  the 
Swedish  officer,  and  Scheiblein,  master  of  the 
arsenal. 

2.  A  herald,  a  division  of  armored  horse-sol- 
diers; Tilly  with  his  staff;  a  mounted  Dominican 
friar;  musicians  in  costume;  three  divisions  of 
foot-soldiers;  baggage  wagon;  pioneers  with  scal- 
ing ladders;  three  guns;  caisson;  powder  wagon; 
reserve  of  horses. 

3.  Camp  followers;  five  trumpeters;  the  leader 
of  the  Croatians  with  followers,  mounted  and  on 
foot;  gypsy  cart;  cart  of  the  canteen  woman;  am- 
bulance wagon;  reserve  of  horses;  baggage 
horses;  servants  of  the  army;  cattle  for  slaughter- 
ing; captives;  army-surgeon;  camp-followers, 
mounted  and  on  foot. 

The  pageant  stops  in  the  gardens  and  lawns  of 
the  dried-up  moat.  Here,  tents  are  pitched  for 
the  senators  and  the  generals,  and  under  the  trees 

141 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  troops  build  their  fires  and  hang  their  kettles. 
On  a  knoll,  the  Burgomaster  and  his  family, 
served  by  the  Butler,  have  their  feast;  and  in  the 
afternoon,  dancing  and  singing  testify  to  the  joy- 
ful delight  of  this  festival.  For,  although,  "  Der 
Meistertrunk,"  the  festival-play,  was  first  per- 
formed in  the  year  1881,  about  the  time  that 
Rothenburg  was  resurrected  from  its  obscurity,  it 
has  Its  source  in  old  and  abiding  patriotism. 
There  had  long  been  exercises  In  honor  of  this 
event  and  these  have  reached  a  greater  perfection 
this  play,  where  in  the  same  hall,  seated  in  the 
same  chairs  and  around  the  same  table  where 
the  event  first  took  place,  the  people  enact  again 
this  famous  and  dramatic  episode  In  the  history  of 
Rothenburg  on  the  Tauber. 

These  festivals  —  whether  primitive  or  beau- 
tiful—  that  have  lasted  through  the  centuries, 
are  typical  of  many  others  —  primitive  and  beau- 
tiful —  that  still  are  enacted  In  places  well-known 
and  places  obscure  of  the  Old  World.  They 
have  endured  because  they  embody  the  religion, 
the  patriotism,  and  the  joy  of  the  people  them- 
selves, and  the  spirit  that  permeates  them  Is  the 
world-wide  Festival-Spirit. 

142 


PART  IV 
Cboice  ot  Subject 

THERE  was  rebellion  in  the  ranks  of  a 
well-known  Chicago  library  staff  near 
the  downtown  district.  Children  had 
always  trooped  in  after  material  for  essays  of 
every  description,  and  the  material  had  been* 
cheerfully  sought  and  given  to  them  even  when  the 
knowledge  of  what  they  wanted  was  very  vague. 
Patience  had  not  fallen  from  her  monument. 
But  shortly  before  Christmas  she  took  a  tumble. 
With  a  bewildered  look  in  their  eyes  members 
of  one  school  had  sauntered  in  and  demanded 
material  on  "  How  the  Little  Assyrians  Celebrated 
Christmas,"  "  How  the  Little  Babylonians  Cele- 
brated Christmas,"  and  "  How  the  Little  Egyp- 
tians Celebrated  Christmas."  The  attendant  in 
charge  threw  up  his  hands,  "  But  how  can  I  tell 
you  how  little  Assyrians  and  Babylonians  and  all 
these  others  used  to  celebrate  Christmas  before 
there   was   a    Christmas?     That's   too   much    for 

143 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

me."  And  with  some  murmur  that  sounded  very 
much  like  "  crazy  teacher,"  he  turned  away  and 
left  the  children  twirling  their  thumbs  in  confu- 
sion. When  we  realize  that  Christmas  is  our 
most  generally  as  well  as  our  most  generously 
celebrated  holiday,  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  spirit- 
less quirk  should  have  prompted  this  preparation 
for  it. 

Christmas  really  —  but  not  popularly  —  is  a 
religions  festival,  to  commemorate  the  birth  of 
Christ  and  the  spirit  of  it  is  probably  best  ex- 
pressed in  that  Gloria  In  Excelsis,  "  On  earth 
peace,  good  will  to  men."  But  at  this  period  of 
the  year  there  has  been  a  celebration  almost  since 
time  began.  The  ancient  people,  as  all  childlike 
people  do,  symbolized  the  forces  of  nature  as 
living  persons.  In  the  northern  part  of  Ger- 
many and  in  other  northern  countries  they  cele- 
brated a  festival  in  which  Winter  was  represented 
as  an  ice  giant,  headless,  and  because  no  food 
came  during  his  reign  he  was  considered  an  enemy 
of  man  and  God.  Riding  on  his  powerful  steed, 
the  North  Wind,  he  would  construct  an  ice  pal- 
ace and  as  long  as  the  ice  palace  remained  the 
people  might  expect  Night  and  Winter  and  Dark- 
ness and  Death.     Of  course  there  was  a  conflict 

144 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

between  the  giants  and  gods  of  Winter  with  those 
of  Spring.  The  North  Wind  would  howl  and 
cry  and  throw  Itself  in  all  Its  fury  against  the 
South  Wind.  Then  Thor,  the  mighty  god  of 
the  thunderstorm,  would  demolish  the  castle  of  the 
ice  giant  and  out  of  Its  ruins,  Freya,  the  goddess 
of  Spring,  would  rise  to  resume  her  former  sway. 
The  mighty  giants  were  not  so  easily  defeated, 
however,  for  one  of  them  with  sly  cunning  would 
steal  the  hammer  from  Thor  when  he  was  asleep 
and  hastening  away  would  hide  It  eight  leagues 
under  the  earth.  Then  Winter  was  In  no  dan- 
ger from  the  thunderstorm  until  Thor,  accom- 
panied by  the  South  Wind,  would  regain  his  ham- 
mer, and  with  renewed  strength  would  again  de- 
molish the  castle  of  Winter. 

December  became  the  climax  In  this  conflict  of 
natural  forces.  For  It  was  in  this  month  that  the 
winter  god,  having  reached  the  very  goal  of 
the  winter  solstice,  now  wheeled  his  chariot  drawn 
by  his  fiery  steeds  and  started  again  in  an  upward 
course,  thus  bringing  after  him  Spring,  and  in- 
stead of  Darkness  and  Death,  Life  and  Victory. 

The  southern  nations  celebrated  this  winter 
solstice  In  the  Saturnalia,  the  great  festival  of 
Saturn.     Types  of  this  feast  were  held  all  over 

145 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  ancient  world  from  Italy  to  Babylon.  Some- 
times it  was  called  "  Feast  of  Fools,"  sometimes 
"  Feast  of  the  Innocents,"  or  the  '*  Feast  of 
Calends,"  or  "  The  Liberties  of  December." 
Indeed,  it  appeared  under  many  names.  After 
Christianity  was  introduced,  the  priests  found 
great  difficulty,  naturally,  in  weaning  the  people 
from  their  pagan  observances,  their  festivals. 
These  being  vivid,  and  near  at  home,  meant  much 
more  to  them  than  something  abstract  and  far 
away.  Both  necessity  and  wisdom,  therefore,  de- 
manded that  these  pagan  customs  must  be  en- 
grafted on  the  Christian  tree  if  Christianity  was 
to  live.  The  "  Feast  of  Fools,"  some  people 
think,  was  Invented  to  wean  the  people  from  their 
heathen  observances  of  the  winter  solstice,  but 
according  to  the  Doctors  of  the  Sorbonne  it  was 
celebrated  "  that  the  folly  which  is  natural  to,  and 
born  with  us,  might  exhale  at  least  once  a  year." 
It  was  the  most  curious  instance  of  the  minghng 
of  pagan  and  Christian  ceremony;  to  us,  irrever- 
ent in  the  extreme,  and  yet,  it  may  be,  a  mere 
natural  reaction  occurring  in  that  transition  age. 
This  feast  was  a  time  of  license.  After  vespers 
or  mass,  which  was  conducted  by  laymen  masquer- 
ading as  figures  of  the  church  and  which  was  car- 

146 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

ried  on  in  a  most  grotesque  manner,  the  bishops 
and  priests  would  throw  dice  at  the  foot  of  the 
ahar,  dance  through  the  churches  singing  rehgious 
chants  and  licentious  songs  one  after  another,  and 
the  nuns,  dressed  in  men's  clothes,  would  also  join 
in  the  dance  and  the  games.  With  such  reversal 
of  dignity  was  this  feast  celebrated ! 

The  priests  who  went  to  the  northern  nations 
were  wiser  in  making  the  transition  from  pagan- 
ism to  Christianity.  Perhaps  you  remember  the 
legend  of  Baldur  and  the  mistletoe.  For  many 
nights  Baldur  had  been  haunted  by  dreams  indi- 
cating that  he  was  soon  to  die.  He  told  these  in 
fear  finally  to  his  mother,  Frigga.  She  lost  no 
time  but  went  through  the  earth  and  exacted  a 
promise  from  all  things,  from  fire  and  water,  from 
iron  and  all  metals,  from  beasts,  birds,  stones, 
trees,  diseases,  everything  that  crept  within  the 
earth,  everything  that  flew  in  the  air,  that  they 
would  do  no  harm,  to  her  beloved  son,  Baldur. 
Then  the  other  gods,  knowing  Baldur  to  be  in- 
vulnerable, used  to  amuse  themselves  by  throwing 
at  him  stones  and  swords  and  all  manner  of  things. 
But  there  was  one  little  shrub  that  grew  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Valhalla  which  Frigga  thought  too 
young  and  too  feeble  to  notice.     It  was  mistletoe. 

147 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Lokl,  the  enemy  of  Baldur,  found  this  shrub  and 
putting  it  into  the  hands  of  a  blind  god  directed 
it  so  that  It  would  dart  at  Baldur.  And  the  god 
of  spring  fell  down  lifeless,  pierced  by  this  shrub 
of  winter. 

The  mistletoe  which  grew  on  the  oak  tree  was 
a  sacred  plant  of  the  Druids.  On  the  sixth  day 
of  the  moon  nearest  to  the  new  year  the  Druids  in 
solemn  procession,  headed  by  the  high  priest,  in 
white  robes,  would  start  out  for  the  annual  cut- 
ting of  the  tree.  On  this  occasion  there  were 
many  sacrifices  offered  in  honor  of  the  mistletoe 
■ — this  mistletoe  which,  it  was  believed,  kept 
away  all  witches  and  all  evils.  The  tree  was  a 
very  sacred  symbol  of  these  earliest  peoples.  In 
Northern  mythology  the  mighty  ash  tree  Ygdra- 
sill  was  believed  to  support  the  whole  universe, 
having  its  three  roots  in  the  dwelling  of  the  gods, 
in  the  abode  of  the  giants,  and  in  the  regions  of 
darkness  and  cold.  There  is  a  pretty  legend  con- 
cerning our  own  Christmas  tree.  St.  Boniface, 
that  holy  man  sent  as  a  missionary  into  Germany, 
one  wintry  night  came  near  to  a  hillock  that  was 
crowned  with  an  oak  tree  called  the  "  thunder- 
oak,"  which  was  sacred  to  Thor,  the  god  of 
thunder.     Some   pagan   ceremonies   were   taking 

148 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

place  it  seemed,  for  there  was  a  fire  kindled 
near  the  altar  at  the  foot  of  the  hillock  and 
white-clad  warriors  were  in  attendance,  while  ar- 
ranged in  a  semicircle  children  and  women  with 
bowed  heads  were  facing  the  tree.  By  the  side 
of  the  high  priest  was  a  kneeling  child  who  was 
doomed  to  die  by  the  blow  of  the  hammer  as  a 
sacrifice  to  Thor.  But  the  blow  of  the  hammer 
was  turned  aside  by  the  cross  which  Boniface  held 
and  the  oak  itself  fell  before  the  blows  of  the 
Apostle  and  the  story  of  Jesus.  As  St.  Boniface 
told  them  this  story  he  saw  amid  the  divided  ruins 
of  the  fallen  oak  a  slender  young  fir  tree  standing 
straight  and  green  with  its  top  pointing  toward 
the  sky.  Turning  to  the  people  he  said,  "  Here 
is  the  living  tree,  with  no  stain  of  blood  upon  it, 
that  shall  be  the  sign  of  your  new  worship.  See 
how  it  points  to  the  sky.  Let  us  call  it  the  tree 
of  the  Christ-child.  Take  it  up  and  carry  it  to 
the  Chieftain's  hall,  for  this  is  the  birth-night  of 
the  White  Christ.  You  shall  go  no  more  into 
the  shadows  of  the  forest  to  keep  your  feasts  with 
secret  rites  of  shame.  You  shall  keep  them  at 
home,  with  laughter,  and  song,  and  rites  of  love." 
To-day,  in  America,  as  one  walks  down  the 
thoroughfares    and   byways    of    large    cities    on 

149 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Christmas  Eve  or  Christmas  night,  he  sees  shin- 
ing through  the  windows  of  nearly  every  home 
the  lights  of  the  candles  on  the  Christmas  tree. 
From  England  and  Germany  we  have  inherited 
this  custom,  and  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the 
general  use  of  the  Christmas  tree  as  a  symbol  of 
this  holy  and  holiday  festival  was  introduced  into 
England  from  Germany,  by  Queen  Victoria. 

In  Harper's  Magazine  for  1872-73  there  is  an 
account  of  the  celebration  of  Christmas  in  Bo- 
hemia and  other  German  provinces  in  which 
som.e  of  these  pagan  rites  can  be  traced.  It  seems 
that  it  was  customary  for  a  num.ber  of  persons  to 
gather  themselves  into  a  dramatic  company  for 
the  purpose  of  performing  Christ  plays  in  which 
they  would  show  and  tell  the  story  of  His  birth; 
the  persecution  by  Herod;  the  flight  of  the  Holy 
Family  into  Egypt;  and  the  plot  to  kill  Him. 
The  characters  were  different  according  to  the 
localities,  but  usually  the  Christ-child,  St.  Nicho- 
las, or  St.  Peter,  St.  Joseph  and  the  Virgin, 
Herod,  the  several  angels  and  shepherds  were 
among  them.  The  devil  was  a  very  important 
member  of  the  caste,  for  In  the  processions  he 
would  caper  about  and  make  jokes  and  in  other 
ways   succeed  In   amusing  the  populace.     Some- 

150 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

times  this  play  was  performed  in  a  hall. 
Sometimes  the  characters  went  from  house  to 
house  like  the  Mummers.  In  their  procession 
they  proceeded  with  the  dance  movement;  they 
would  walk  four  steps  to  and  fro,  singing  as  they 
went,  and  on  the  fourth  time,  when  the  rhyme  of 
the  song  came  in,  would  turn  quickly  around. 
This  made  the  regular  conventional  procession. 
It  was  headed  by  the  best  singer  carrying  a 
gigantic  star  and  followed  by  the  others  pulling  a 
large  fir  tree  decorated  with  ribbons  and  apples. 
When  they  arrived  at  the  hall  where  the  perform- 
ance was  to  take  place  they  formed  into  a  half 
circle  and  sang  the  star  song.  Then  it  is  signifi- 
cant to  note  that  they  saluted  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars,  the  Emperor,  the  Government,  and  the 
Mastersinger  in  the  name  of  all  "  the  herbs  and 
roots  that  grow  in  the  earth." 

The  stage  on  which  the  play  was  given  was 
very  bare,  and  any  change  of  scene  had  to  be  indi- 
cated by  a  procession  of  the  company  singing  an 
appropriate  song.  After  they  had  passed  those 
who  took  part  in  that  scene  were  left  on  the  stage. 
The  play  i3  perhaps  introduced  by  the  song  of  the 
angels  and  the  speech  of  the  arch-angel  and  this 
is   followed  by  the   entrance  of  the   Christ-child 

151 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

who  wears  a  gilded  paper  crown  and  carries  a 
basket  full  of  apples  and  nuts.  When  he  comes  In 
lie  sings  the  song  beginning,  "  Down  from  the  high 
heaven  I  come";  then  he  Informs  the  children 
that  his  purpose  In  coming  Is  to  learn  whether  they 
have  been  good  and  obedient  and  If  they  "  pray 
and  spin  diligently."  The  reward  for  diligence 
is  gifts  from  his  golden  chariot  which  stands  at 
the  door,  the  punishment  is  a  belaboring  by  the 
black  Ruprecht.  Before  this  is  decided,  St. 
Nicholas  is  called  on  to  furnish  a  faithful  account 
of  the  children's  behavior.  He  seems  to  be  a 
pessimistic  soul,  for  he  usually  complains  that  the 
children  loiter  in  the  street  and  tear  their  books 
and  neglect  their  tasks  and  more  than  all  forget 
their  prayers.  But  the  Christ-child  pleads  for 
them  and  St.  Peter  is  called.  He  comes  in  bring- 
ing his  keys  and  acts  in  a  very  autocratic  manner. 
He  examines  their  records  and  bids  them  kneel 
and  so  pronounces  sentence  upon  them,  calling 
upon  Ruprecht  to  carry  out  his  commands. 
Dressed  in  fur  with  blackened  face  and  fiery  eyes 
and  a  long  red  tongue  which  hangs  out,  this  bug- 
bear stumbles  over  the  threshold  and  as  he  falls 
headlong  into  the  room  thunders  at  the  children, 
"  Can  you  pray?  "     Of  course  they  all  fall  down 

152 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

on  their  knees  and  pray  at  the  top  of  their  voices. 
And  after  another  song  or  two  has  been  sung,  and 
after  the  Christ-child  has  scattered  apples  and 
nuts  upon  the  floor  they  exit  and  the  play  is  ended. 

This  is  perhaps  a  type  of  the  plays  that,  under 
the  direction  of  the  clergy,  were  devised  as  sub- 
stitutes for  the  pagan  rites. 

In  England,  perhaps,  Christmas  has  been  and 
is  most  brilliantly  celebrated.  The  English 
country  houses  provide  such  an  ideal  setting  for 
the  Old  English  Christmas  handed  down  from 
feudal  times.  The  holiday  season  was  supposed 
to  commence  with  Christmas  Eve  and  to  end  on 
the  evening  before  the  "  Purification  of  the  Vir- 
gin." There  was  an  ecclesiastical  canon  to  the 
effect  that  at  this  time  the  Christmas  decorations 
must  be  removed  from  the  churches.  However, 
Twelfth  Night  usually  terminated  the  festivities. 
The  Scandinavian  ancestors  at  the  feast  of  Juul, 
at  the  winter  solstice,  were  accustomed  to  kindle 
huge  bonfires  in  honor  of  Thor.  Here  is  the 
original  of  the  Yule  log  without  which  an  Old 
English  Christmas  was  incomplete.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  household  went  into  the  woods  to  chop 
down  the  tree  and  drew  it  home  in  triumph  sing- 
ing a  Yule  song  as  they  passed.     And  each  way- 

153 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

farer  raised  his  hat  in  deference  to  the  good 
promises  which  the  Yule  log  held.  It  was  to 
burn  away  all  enmity,  all  hate,  and  to  remove  by 
its  fire  the  evil  and  the  sin  so  that  the  next  year 
might  be  one  of  great  rejoicing. 

The  Lord  of  Misrule,  whose  duties  were  to 
direct  the  revels  of  the  season,  was  the  important 
master  of  ceremonies  of  the  old  Christmas  time. 
His  first  action  was  to  absolve  the  company  of  all 
their  wisdom,  leaving  them  just  wise  enough  to 
make  fools  of  themselves;  assuring  them  that  he 
had  a  magic  power  whereby  he  could  turn  all 
people  into  children  and  that  they  should  take 
care  to  conduct  themselves  accordingly.  On 
Christmas  Eve  or  Christmas  Day  the  Mummers 
would  come  with  their  play.  And  in  great  con- 
trast to  them  would  come  the  Christmas  carolers. 
Their  singing  is  supposed  to  be  in  memory  of  the 
hymn  sung  by  the  angels  to  the  shepherds  at 
Bethlehem.  Jeremy  Taylor,  referring  to  these 
angels  said,  *'  As  soon  as  these  blessed  choristers 
had  sung  their  Christmas  carol  and  taught  the 
church  a  hymn  to  put  into  her  offices  forever  in 
the  anniversc^ry  of  this  festivity,  the  angels  re- 
turned into  heaven."  If  the  songs  that  these  vil- 
lage choristers  sing  have  not  always  the  words, 

154 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

'*  Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest  and  on  Earth, 
peace,  good  will  to  men,"  they  have  the  spirit  of 
the  Christmastide.  In  Cambridgeshire  the  favor- 
ite carol  is  that  ancient  one: 

"  God  bless  you,  merry  gentlemen, 
Let  nothing  you  dismay; 
For  remember  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  Day." 

Another  favorite  is  "  When  Christ  was  born  of 
Mary  free."  And  there  are  many  others  still  to 
be  found  am^ong  the  English  Christmas  carols. 
In  Worcestershire  the  singers  ended  their  song 
with: 

"  I  wish  3^ou  a  Merry  Christmas,  and  a  Happy  New  Year, 
Pocket  full  of  money,  cellar  full  of  beer. 
And  a  good  fat  pig  to  last  you  all  the  year." 

These  carols  are  sung  either  on  Christmas  morn- 
ing or  Christmas  Eve  by  the  waifs  or  children  of 
the  village  choir  who  go  about  from  house  to 
house.  They  are  usually  rewarded  with  money 
or  candies  or  toys. 

There  is  so  much  material  to  be  found  on  the 
Old  English  Christmas  and  it  is  such  a  picturesque 
one  that  it  is  a  very  easy  subject  for  a  festival  and 
admits   of  many   variations.     In   one   school   the 

155 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

older  members  worked  out  an  Old  English  Christ- 
mas. Their  setting  was  the  drawing-room  of  an 
English  country  house  and  the  guests  were  there 
for  the  Christmas  holidays.  The  older  people 
were  dressed  in  the  elaborate  gowns  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  and  the  children  in  their  quaint 
attire.  The  conversation  was  quite  spontaneous, 
never  having  been  written  down  in  dialogue  form, 
indicating  those  customs  necessary  to  introduce 
the  games  and  festivities  and  to  create  the  illusion 
of  the  setting.  The  children  helped  by  one  or 
two  of  their  elders  brought  in  the  Yule  log,  on 
which  rode  the  littlest  one,  singing  as  heartily  as 
the  others  in  the  song.  After  the  log  had  been 
placed  on  the  fire  different  groups  played  different 
games.  Of  course  there  was  Snap-dragon.  No 
Old  English  Christmas  is  complete  without  that 
game.  On  a  small  table  was  a  large  dish  contain- 
ing raisins.  The  master  of  the  house  poured  out  a 
little  brandy  in  a  spoon,  held  it  over  a  candle  until 
it  caught  fire  and  then  very  carefully  spread  the 
blue  flame  over  the  whole  dish.  And  one  after 
another  began  to  snatch  and  to  snap,  trying  to 
whisk  a  flaming  raisin  or  more  out  of  the  dish. 
At  the  end  of  the  game  a  handful  of  salt  thrown 
on  to  the  flickering  flame  produced  a  ghastly  look 

156 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

to  the  faces  which  delighted  the  children.  Just 
at  this  time  in  the  distance  was  heard  the  faint 
strains  of  the  carol,  and  there  was  a  hush  while 
the  carolers,  singing,  "  Good  King  Wenceslaus," 
came  to  the  window  of  the  room  (in  this  case  they 
marched  through  the  audience  to  the  foot  of  the 
stage).  After  that  they  sang  two  other  carols, 
one  "  The  First  Nowell,"  and  last,  "  When  Christ 
was  born  of  Mary  free,"  the  words  of  which  are 
taken  from  an  Harleian  manuscript.  After  their 
music  had  died  away  in  the  distance,  the  members 
of  the  household  joined  in  the  courtly  minuet 
when  suddenly  they  were  interrupted  by  a  terrific 
noise  and  bellow  outside.  Every  one  turned  to 
look  and  in  came  the  Mummers  in  their  most  fan- 
tastical and  grotesque  costumes  and  the  festival 
ended  with  their  play. 

The  Christmas  festival  is  as  much  an  American 
festival  as  it  is  tEat  of  any  other  Christian  nation, 
but  it  seems  to  be  confused  in  the  minds  of  most 
people  with  a  maddening  rush  and  tear  of  giving 
gifts;  and  there  is  so  much  artificiality  in  the  spirit 
in  which  many  of  these  gifts  are  presented,  and  so 
great  an  attempt  to  make  inelastic  purse  strings 
stretch  so  as  to  cover  an  acre  of  poverty,  that  the 
festal  spirit  has  been   conspicuously  lacking  and 

157 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  salvation  of  Christmas  is  due  almost  entirely 
to  the  children. 

The  usual  way  of  celebrating  in  the  schools  — 
by  essays  and  talks  on  the  Christmas  spirit,  and 
recitations,  and  orations  —  Is  depressing  and  pro- 
ductive of  no  real  holiday  spirit.  So  the  members 
of  a  class  in  one  school  long  addicted  to  this  habit 
determined  to  change  it.  Curiosity  in  the  school 
grew  in  proportion  to  the  secrecy  maintained  by 
the  class  preparing  the  Christmas  festival.  The 
sight  —  and  sound  —  of  wooden  shoes  as  they 
stumbled  around  corners  after  school  hours;  the 
excited  Information  that  some  In  the  class  had 
been  seen  In  "  Dutchtown  "  talking  to  the  Hol- 
landers as  they  worked  in  their  celery  marshes, 
served  to  Increase  suspense  even  while  It  offered 
a  clue. 

In  the  city  was  a  large  Dutch  settlement  with 
quite  the  aspect  of  a  miniature  Holland.  In 
little  houses  copied  after  those  that  they  had  left 
at  home  these  people  lived  In  the  marshes  where 
they  grew  their  celery.  Through  the  marshes 
ran  the  streams  that  Irrigated  their  product. 
Over  these  were  small  bridges,  and  here  and  there 
a  windmill  dotted  the  landscape.  Occasionally, 
if  one  rambled  through  this  quaint  quarter,   he 

158 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

might  meet  a  group  just  arrived  from  the  old 
country,  wearing  their  wooden  shoes  and  queer 
Dutch  costumes.  They  were  a  peaceable,  law- 
abiding  people,  these  Dutch;  some  had  become 
Americanized  enough  to  be  elected  members  of 
the  city  council  and  to  interest  themselves  and 
their  neighbors  in  the  affairs  of  the  city.  But,  on 
the  whole,  they  kept  pretty  well  unto  themselves; 
went  to  their  own  school,  attended  their  own 
church,  and  worked  in  their  own  marshes.  Their 
customs,  their  traditions,  were  as  foreign  as  their 
homes.  To  become  acquainted  with  these  people 
the  students  went  down  into  "  little  Holland," 
and,  going  from  house  to  house,  saw  life  from  a 
different  angle.  Frequently  they  had  to  turn 
away  because  the  people  could  neither  speak  nor 
understand  English;  but  here  and  there  they 
gathered  their  information,  a  game,  a  dance,  or  a 
song.  Some  went  to  the  Holland  school  at  recess 
time,  and  the  school  children  would  recall  the 
games  they  played  at  Christmas  time  before  they 
crossed  the  "  Big  Water." 

"  We  have  our  holiday  Christmas  on  the  fifth 
and  sixth  of  December,"  said  the  little  Dutch- 
men, *'  because  the  25th  is  the  birthday  of  Christ 
and  it  is  a  holy  day;  then  we  go  to  church,  and  we 

159 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

hear  the  story  of  Christ,  and  we  come  back  to 
our  houses  and  hav^e  chocolate  and  little  cakes. 
But  on  the  5th  and  6th  we  have  awfully  good 
times.  Saint  Nicholas  comes,  with  his  black 
helper,  and  fills  our  shoes,  after  he  has  taken  out 
the  grain  which  we  put  there  for  his  reindeer." 

With  such  bits  gathered  from  this  child  in  the 
street  or  in  the  school,  from  that  old  man  in 
the  shop,  and  this  old  mother  over  her  oven,  the 
students  found  the  material  for  their  Christmas 
festival.  Interest  in  these  "  new  people  "  here- 
.  tofore  had  never  been  manifest;  but  on  the  5th 
I  of  December,  when  the  festival  was  presented, 
not  a  seat  was  vacant.  The  first  scene  was  a 
Dutch  home  on  the  night  of  the  "  holiday " 
Christmas.  The  mother  and  the  father  and  the 
children  were  around  the  hearthstone,  where  were 
the  wooden  shoes  filled  with  the  grain  ready  for 
the  reindeer.  As  they  talked  together  about 
what  they  had  done  in  other  years  at  Christmas, 
they  conveyed  to  the  audience  the  customs  and 
traditions  of  the  Dutch  people.  Then  suddenly 
St.  Nicholas  arrived,  and  before  he  could  escape 
the  children  caught  him  and  made  him  play  some 
games  with  them.  After  he  had  slyly  slipped 
away  they  consoled  themselves  by  playing  with 

160 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

their  gifts  and  dancing  some  of  tlieir  folk-dances. 

As  the  curtain  went  up  on  the  second  scene  the 
atmosphere  had  changed;  it  was  no  longer  gay,  it 
was  religious.  This  was  the  morning  of  the 
25th,  and  as  the  mother  told  with  great  simplicity 
in  the  language  of  the  Bible  the  story  of  the  birth 
of  Christ,  it  was  remembered  that  this  was  a  holy 
day  as  well  as  a  holiday. 

Here  in  America  we  have  certain  so-called  legal 
holidays  —  days  set  apart  for  the  celebration  in 
memory  of  some  event,  the  most  important  being 
Christmas,  Fourth  of  July,  Washington's  Birth- 
day, Memorial  Day,  and  Thanksgiving  Day. 
On  these  days  the  banks  and  schools  and  public 
buildings  are  closed  and  the  day  is  supposed 
to  be  given  over  to  the  commemoration  of  the 
event  for  which  the  holiday  is  held.  But  in 
spite  of  all  this  we  really  have  no  holiday,  for 
we  have  not  the  spirit  of  the  day  itself.  Of 
course  the  spirit  cannot  be  given  us  by  law;  It 
is  an  inherent  thing  and  must  be  carefully  Incul- 
cated so  that  it  may  become  a  part  of  the  fiber  of 
the  people.  Lately  we  have  awakened  to  this 
fact,  and  as  a  consequence,  Thanksgiving  Day  has 
ceased  to  be  the  occasion  for  the  greatest  football 
game  of  the  season.     Constant  efforts  for  the  un- 

i6i 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

fortunately  termed  "  Sane  Fourth "  have  some- 
what changed  the  method  of  celebration  on  this 
day.  But  for  what  we  have  taken  away  have  we 
given  anything  truly  adequate  in  return?  To 
filch  from  a  boy  a  real  cannon  and  give  him  in- 
stead a  picture  of  a  real  battle  is  about  as  "  sane  " 
as  the  Biblical  exchange  of  a  stone  for  bread. 

The  military  tournament  on  Chicago's  Lake 
Front  on  July  4,  19 10,  did  more  than  this;  there 
was  a  brown  tent  city  of  three  thousand  American 
soldiers;  there  was  the  thrill  of  a  sham  battle  with 
all  the  noise  any  boy  could  ask;  there  were  waving 
colors,  galloping  horses,  smoke  and  dust,  and 
make-believe  wounded  regulars.  There  was  a 
military  and  historical  pageant  with  the  band  in 
the  uniform  of  1776;  and  Washington's  stage- 
coach; Betsy  Ross  making  a  flag;  the  Independ- 
ence Bell;  Colonial  Troops,  British  Troops, 
French  Troops,  Civil  War  Troops,  German 
Troops;  and  Bohemian  floats.  All  the  different 
nationalities  who  wished  to  enter  into  this  civic 
demonstration  of  patriotism  were  there  in  glory. 
There  was  but  one  drawback  to  the  boy  who 
watched  it.  He  wanted  to  be  on  the  mimic  bat- 
tle-field himself. 

And  is  there  not  need  for  historical  holiday  fes- 
162 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

tlvltles  in  our  land  of  many  nationalities?  This 
seems  to  be  answered  by  a  press  despatch  from 
New  York,  dated  July  4,  19 10,  which  reads  as 
follows : 

"  Isidore  Solov,  a  young  iron  maker,  was  caught  in 
Houston  Street  to-day  with  a  revolver  and  some  car- 
tridges.    He  was  taken  before  the  magistrate. 

You  say  you  got  the  pistol  to  celebrate  the  Fourth 
of  Jul}-  ?  '  inquired  the  magistrate. 

bure. 

Why  is  the  Fourth  of  July  celebrated  ?  ' 
"  'Why  —  what  are  you  doing  —  kidding  me?' 

No,  I  mean  it.  Why  is  the  Fourth  of  July  cele- 
brated ?  ' 

"'Why?     Because   it  just   is,  of  course'    [laughing]. 

No,  this  is  no  laughing  matter.  I  am  trying  to  get 
out  of  you  whether  you  know  why  you  celebrate  the 
fourth  day  of  this  month.' 

Oh,  I  thought  you  were  kidding  me.  No,  I  don't 
know  why.' 

You,  working  in  America  for  three  years,  and  don't 
know  why  5'Ou  celebrate  the  fourth  day  of  July!  You 
ought  to  be  ashamed.  I  will  let  you  go  on  condition  that 
you  write  a  composition  of  five  hundred  words  on 
"  Why  the  Fourth  is  the  Glorious  Fourth !  "  '  " 

If  the  magistrate  could  have  devised  any  better 
way  to  make  the  Ironmaker  hate  the  Fourth  of 
July  I  do  not  know  of  It.  However,  it  seems  to 
have  been  the  time-honored  method  used  to  raise 

163 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

up  patriotism  in  the  breasts  of  young  Americans. 
And  when  they  get  old  and  become  magistrates 
the  result  of  it  is  that  they  assign  a  composition  of 
five  hundred  words  on  "  Why  the  Fourth  is  the 
Glorious  Fourth  "  to  foreigners  who  probably  can 
neither  read  nor  write  in  order  that  they  may  be 
imbued  with  American  patriotism ! 

THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY 

The  Fourth  of  July  is  a  holiday  for  the  purpose 
of  celebrating  the  signing  on  the  fourth  of  July, 
1776,  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  by  the 
members  of  the  Continental  Congress  assembled 
in  the  State  House  at  Philadelphia.  To  how 
many  American  children,  I  ask  you,  is  the  Fourth 
of  July  connected  with  this  event?  Most  schools 
are  not  in  session  at  this  time  and  the  town  usually 
oversees  the  celebration.  And  inasmuch  as  it  is 
training  the  future  citizens  and  future  magistrates 
why  should  it  not  take  more  thought  unto  itself 
that  this  celebration  should  be  one  of  meaning 
rather  than  one  of  noise?  If  the  village  of 
Rothenburg  can  give  such  an  impressive  play  as 
the  "  Master  Drink,"  an  episode  in  the  Thirty- 
Years'  War  —  a  festival  which  brings  people  from 
all  over  the  world  within  its  walls  —  is  it  not  a 

164 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

shame  we  cannot  show  our  patriotism  in  some 
such  fitting  manner? 

I  am  sure  that  the  Fourth  of  July  would  be 
much  more  vivid  to  me  if  I  could  see  that  Amer- 
ican Congress  of  1776,  creating  that  great  docu- 
ment that  made  this  country  a  nation.  In  the 
body  of  Congress  would  sit  Franklin,  the  two 
Adamses,  Jefferson,  and  all  the  other  noted  people. 
It  was  a  very  dramatic  scene;  why  could  it  not  be 
vivified  to-day?  By  dramatic  license  some  of  the 
speeches  occurring  In  the  events  preceding  this 
Congress  could  be  included,  I  should  like  to  hear 
Johnson  of  Maryland  nominate  George  Washing- 
ton as  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army. 
George  Washington  has  never  been  very  vivid  In 
the  minds  of  most  children,  I  think.  To  me  he 
always  seemed  either  much  like  the  potentate  one 
sees  in  the  King  of  Clubs  or  else  like  a  superhuman 
prig;  but  could  I  see  him  and  hear  him  accept.  In 
the  Continental  Congress,  the  office  of  comman- 
der-in-chief In  his  sincere  and  humble  speech  when 
he  said,  "  I  declare  with  the  utmost  sincerity  I  do 
not  think  myself  equal  to  the  command  I  am 
honored  with,"  I  am  sure  he  would  seem  more  like 
the  Father  of  my  Country. 

The  scene  of  the  Congress  would  be  a  brilliant 
165 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

one  with  these  eminent  men  in  their  stately  and 
gorgeous  colonial  costumes,  meeting  together  to 
decide  whether  the  united  colonies  ought  to  be 
free  and  independent  states.  Richard  Henry 
Lee  of  Virginia  would  move  these  resolutions : 
"  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States;  that 
they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  Brit- 
ish crown;  and  that  all  political  connection  be- 
tween them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain  is  and 
ought  to  be  totally  dissolved. 

"  That  it  Is  expedient  forthwith  to  take  the 
most  effectual  measures  for  forming  foreign 
alliances. 

"  That  a  plan  of  confederation  be  prepared, 
and  transmitted  to  the  respective  colonies  for 
their  consideration  and  approbation." 

Then  would  be  heard  the  voice  of  John  Adams 
of  Massachusetts  ring  out  to  second  this  resolu- 
tion. A  discussion  would  follow  revealing  those 
States  that  were  in  favor  of  Independence  and 
those  that  desired  delay.  The  second  scene 
would  be  that  most  Impressive  one,  the  actual 
signing  Itself.  First  would  come  the  reading  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  or  a  part  of  It, 
which  was  written  by  Thomas  Jefferson.     The 

1 66 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

little  Incident  noted  in  Jefferson's  journal  con- 
cerning the  discussion  in  the  Congress  about 
the  Declaration  could  be  made  effective.  John 
Adams  was  its  chief  defender  and  Jefferson  did 
not  say  a  word,  but  he  writes  in  his  journal,  "  Dur- 
ing the  debate  I  was  sitting  by  Dr.  Franklin  who 
observed  that  I  was  writhing  a  little  under  the 
acrimonious  criticism  of  some  of  its  parts;  and  it 
was  on  that  occasion,  that,  by  way  of  comfort,  he 
told  me  the  story  of  John  Thompson,  the  hatter, 
and  his  new  sign."  This  was  a  story  about  a  man 
who  was  about  to  open  a  shop  for  hats  and  who 
decided  to  have  a  signboard  with  a  hat  painted 
on  it,  and  the  inscription,  "  John  Thompson,  hat- 
ter, makes  and  sells  hats."  Now  when  he  dis- 
cussed this  with  his  acquaintances  almost  every 
word  met  with  some  objection  from  somebody 
who  thought  it  was  unnecessary,  and  at  last  it  was 
reduced  to  "  John  Thompson,"  and  the  figure  of 
a  hat. 

Dr.  Franklin  would  add  a  gay  note  to  that  very 
serious  scene  of  the  signers  grouped  around  that 
important  document  ready  to  sign  it.  We  would 
vividly  remember  John  Hancock,  whose  signa- 
ture headed  the  document,  by  his  speech,  "  We 
must   be   unanimous :   there    must   be    no   pulling 

167 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

different  ways:  we  must  all  hang  together." 
"  Yes,"  would  answer  Franklin,  "  we  must  all 
hang  together  or  else  we  shall  all  hang  sepa- 
rately." Then  the  little  boy  who  had  been  placed 
at  the  hall  door  by  the  old  bell  ringer  to  await  the 
signal  of  the  doorI<:eeper,  when  that  Declaration 
of  Independence  came,  would  run  out  exclaiming, 
"  Ring,  ring,  ring!  "  and  we  would  hear  the  bell, 
that  Old  Liberty  bell,  proclaim  liberty  to  all  the 
land. 

I  can  but  feel  that  an  observance  of  this  char- 
acter on  the  Fourth  of  July  would  leave  its  im- 
press very  materially  on  those  who  took  part  and 
those  who  witnessed. 

Some  of  the  features  of  the  first  celebrations 
also  are  of  interest.  John  Adams,  in  a  letter  to 
his  wife  written  at  the  time,  says  that  he  believes, 
"  that  it  will  be  celebrated  by  succeeding  genera- 
tions as  the  great  anniversary  festival.  It  ought 
to  be  commemorated  as  the  day  of  deliverance, 
by  solemn  acts  of  devotion  to  God  Almighty.  It 
ought  to  be  solemnized  with  pomp  and  parade, 
with  shows,  games,  sports,  guns,  bells,  bonfires, 
and  illuminations,  from  one  end  of  this  continent 
to  the  other,  from  this  time  forward  forever- 
more."     It  was  first  celebrated  July  8,   1776,  in 

168 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

the  yard  of  the  State  Elouse,  "  where  In  the  pres- 
ence of  a  great  concourse  of  people  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  read  by  John  Nixon. 
The  company  declared  their  approbation  by  three 
repeated  huzzas.  The  king's  arms  were  taken 
down  in  the  court-room,  State  House  [at  the] 
same  time  .  .  .  After  which  they  went  [to]  the 
Commons,  where  the  same  was  proclaimed  at  each 
of  the  five  battalions.  Then  there  were  bonfires 
and  ringing  of  bells  and  other  demonstrations  of 

joy." 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  cele- 
brated in  New  York  in  a  manner  which  was  more 
or  less  directed  by  Washington.  He  issued  in  a 
General  Order  for  that  day  the  following  mes- 
sage : 

"  Continental  Congress,  impelled  by  the  dic- 
tates of  duty,  policy  and  necessity,  to  dissolve  the 
connection  which  subsisted  between  this  Country 
and  Great  Britain  and  to  declare  the  United  Colo- 
nies of  America  free  and  independent  states.  The 
Several  brigades  are  to  be  drawn  up  this  evening 
on  their  respective  Parades  at  six  o'clock  when  the 
declaration  of  Congress,  showing  the  grounds  and 
reasons  of  this  Measure  is  to  be  read  with  an 
audible   voice.     The   General   hopes   this   impor- 

169 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

tant  Event  will  serve  as  a  fresh  Incentive  to  every 
officer  and  soldier,  to  act  with  Fidelity  and  Cour- 
age, as  knowing  that  now  the  peace  and  safety  of 
this  Country  depends  (under  God)  solely  on  the 
success  of  our  Arms:  And  that  he  is  now  in  the 
service  of  a  State  possessed  of  sufficient  power  to 
reward  his  merit,  and  advance  him  to  the  highest 
Honors  of  a  free  Country." 

It  has  always  seemed  fitting  on  this  day  — 
probably  in  view  of  the  first  celebrations  —  that 
some  military  features  should  be  incorporated  In 
the  celebration  of  this  national  holiday.  How- 
ever, the  chief  problem  —  both  from  the  stand- 
point of  Interest  and  value  —  In  the  celebration 
of  these  commemorative  holidays  is  that  the 
spirit  of  the  day  should  be  transmitted.  Whether 
this  can  best  be  effected  by  military  or  by  peace 
features,  or  by  both,  must  be  decided  by  the  senti- 
ment of  the  community  which  directs  the  celebra- 
tion.     But  the  spirit  of  the  day  is  the  thing ! 

In  another  letter  John  Adams  describes  the 
celebration  by  Congress  itself  of  this  Important 
decree.  The  Delaware  frigate  and  continental 
armed  vessels  and  row-galleys  and  guard-boats 
were  taken  up  the  river  and  were  decorated  with 
the   colors   of   all   nations   festooned   around   the 

170 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

masts  and  rigging.  Then  at  one  o'clock  they 
were  manned  —  the  men  being  stationed  in  the 
rigging  and  top-yards,  making,  as  he  said,  a  very 
striking  appearance  of  a  company  of  men  drawn 
up  in  order  in  the  air.  John  Adams  and  others 
of  the  Congress  then  went  on  to  the  Delaware 
when  there  was  discharged  a  salute  of  thirteen 
guns,  followed  by  a  discharge  of  thirteen  others 
from  every  armed  vessel.  In  the  afternoon  and 
evening  following,  there  were  parades  of  troops 
of  light  horse,  artillery,  and  of  a  thousand  infantry 
that  went  through  their  maneuvers.  Music  and 
a  general  illumination  made  radiant  this  first 
celebration  by  Congress  of  its  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. 

Richard  Henry  Lee  describes  a  very  amusing 
celebration  in  1788. 

"  We  had  a  magnificent  celebration  of  the  an- 
niversary of  Independence  yesterday  when  hand- 
some fireworks  were  displayed.  The  Whigs  of 
the  city  dressed  up  a  woman  of  the  town  with 
the  monstrous  headdress  of  the  Tory  ladies  and 
escorted  her  through  [the  streets]  with  the  great 
concourse  of  people.  Her  head  was  elegantly 
and  expensively  dressed,  I  suppose  about  three 
feet  high,  and  proportionate  width  with  a  profu- 

171 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

sion  of  curls,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  The  figure  was  droll 
and  occasioned  much  mirth.  It  has  lessened 
some  heads  already.  And  will  probably  bring 
the  rest  within  the  bounds  of  reason,  for  they  are 
monstrous,  indeed." 

While  these  celebrations  are  Interesting,  being 
the  first  to  commemorate  the  event,  as  time  goes 
by  the  particular  and  personal  animosities  or  feel- 
ings that  surround  an  event  shade  into  the  white 
light  of  the  spirit  of  the  event  itself  and  the  cele- 
bration should  take  on  a  more  fitting  character. 

Washington's  birthday 

It  was  appropriate,  too,  that  Washington's 
birthday  should  become  a  national  holiday,  not 
only  because  he  is  affectionately  termed  the  Father 
of  our  Country,  being  the  first  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army  and  the  first  president  of  the  United 
States;  but  also  because  the  celebration  of  the 
birthday  of  the  king  and  queen  had  been  a  tradi- 
tional usage  of  the  people  who  made  up  these 
united  colonies.  Therefore-,  it  was  but  natural 
that  the  birthday  of  our  first  citizen  should  take 
its  place. 

I  doubt  If  It  Is  generally  known  that  the  first 
celebration   of   his   birthday   was   by  the   French 

172 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

troops  who  were  stationed  under  the  command  of 
Count  de  Rochambeau  at  Newport  in  1781.  He 
wrote  to  Washington:  "Yesterday  (Sunday) 
was  the  anniversary  of  your  Excellency's  birthday. 
We  have  put  oft  celebrating  that  holiday  till  to- 
day, by  reason  of  the  Lord's  day,  and  we  will  cele- 
brate it  with  the  sole  regret  that  your  Excellency 
be  not  a  witness  of  the  effusion  and  gladness  of 
our  hearts." 

In  1782  the  Virginian  Gazette  published  a  rec- 
ord of  a  celebration  of  his  birthday  claiming  that 
it  was  the  first  celebration.  But  we  are  indebted 
to  the  French  for  the  first  thought  and  the  expres- 
sion of  it  on  this  day.  The  first  popular  celebra- 
tion of  it  In  New  York  occurred  in  1784,  less  than 
three  months  after  the  British  had  departed  from 
our  land.  Flags  and  bunting  decorated  the 
houses,  bells  rang,  and  patriotic  salutes  were  fired 
at  intervals  from  the  Battery.  In  the  evening  an 
entertainment  was  given  on  board  an  East  Indian 
ship,  then  in  the  harbor,  to  a  "  brilliant  and  re- 
spectable company."  At  this  entertainment  the 
number  thirteen  was  the  favorite  number.  There 
were  thirteen  salutes  and  thirteen  toasts.  These 
have  Increased  in  number  according  to  the  states 
added  year  by  year. 

173 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

When  there  are  so  many  dramatic  incidents  in 
the  life  of  the  hero  of  a  country,  and  in  the  history 
of  that  country,  it  is  distressing  to  contemplate  the 
"  exercises  "  that  to-day  in  many  schools  and  in 
many  towns  are  held  in  memory  not  only  of  him 
but  of  our  country.  I  remember  very  well  how, 
as  a  child, —  I  think  I  was  in  the  third  grade, — 
the  incident  of  the  boys  in  Boston  with  Governor 
Gage  impressed  me,  and  has  always  hung,  as  a 
picture,  on  the  walls  of  my  memory.  You  re- 
member how  unpopular  the  British  troops  made 
themselves  with  the  lads  who  used  to  play  on  the 
Common;  beating  down  the  snow  hills  and  other- 
wise spoiling  their  fun.  The  boys,  being  sturdy 
little  Americans,  appealed  to  the  captains  —  in 
vain.  Then,  unflinchingly,  they  appeared  before 
Governor  Gage,  stating  their  case  and  demanding 
justice.  I  could  see  Gage,  in  his  brilliant  uni- 
form, as  he  exclaimed,  "What!  Have  your 
fathers  been  teaching  you  rebellion  and  sent  you 
here  to  exhibit  It?  "  And  how  I  liked  to  read  the 
answer,  "  Nobody  sent  us,  sir.  We  have  never 
injured  nor  insulted  your  troops;  but  they  have 
trodden  down  our  snow  hills,  and  broken  the  ice 
on  our  skating  grounds.  We  complained;  and 
they  called  us  '  young  rebels,'  and  told  us  to  help 

174 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

ourselves  if  we  could.  We  told  the  captains  of 
this;  and  they  laughed  at  us.  Yesterday  our 
works  were  destroyed  the  third  time;  and  we  will 
bear  it  no  longer." 

No  wonder  the  Governor,  impressed  by  the 
justness  and  fearlessness  of  these  children,  ex- 
claimed to  one  of  his  officers  who  stood  by,  "  The 
very  children  here  draw  in  a  love  of  liberty  with 
the  air  they  breathe.  You  may  go,  my  brave 
boys,  and  be  assured,  if  my  troops  trouble  you 
again,  they  shall  be  punished." 

This  is  such  a  simple  incident,  vivid  and  dra- 
matic, that  it  could  be  utilized  very  easily  as  a 
scene  for  the  youngest  children  and  would  leave 
its  impress  of  that  love  of  liberty  which  per- 
meated the  air  in  America  at  that  time. 

And  then  those  scenes  that  surround  the  Cross- 
ing of  the  Delaware !  Any  American  town  on  a 
river  (or  without  that  added  illusion  to  the  set- 
ting), could  be  put  into  as  vivid  a  high  light  as 
Rothenburg  in  her  historical  play.  There  would 
be  those  pitiful  and  yet  invincible  groups  of 
American  troops  on  one  side  of  the  river,  huddling 
under  their  pieces  of  ragged  canvas,  shivering, 
hungry  and  ragged,  and  riding  among  them,  a 
tall  figure  in  a  dark  coat  with  cheerful  mien,  but, 

175 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

one  fancies,  with  questioning  sorrow  in  his  heart. 
Could  even  he,  out  of  this  dwindling  army,  whose 
companions  were  Famine  and  Frost  and  Fever  — 
could  he  lead  this  army  into  the  glory  of  victory? 
And  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  would  be  the 
Hessians  in  brilliant  attire,  abandoning  them- 
selves to  their  enjoyment.  There  would  be  the 
music  of  German  bands,  with  the  drinking  and 
sometimes  drunken  choruses  of  soldiers;  there 
would  be  the  feasts,  the  dances,  and  the  games. 
And  here  and  there  would  be  seen  groups  of  Tory 
citizens  with  their  three-cornered  hats,  their  lace 
ruffles,  their  silk  stockings  and  glittering  buckles. 
And  ladies,  in  brocades  and  jewels  with  pow- 
dered hair  piled  high,  and  paint  and  patches 
on  their  cheeks,  would  ride  by  in  gilded  coaches. 
And  now  and  then  one  might  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  loyal  Americans  in  homespun  and  rags  and 
no  color  on  their  cheeks  but  that  of  faith  and  no 
light  in  their  eyes  but  that  of  courage.  Sentinels 
would  pace  up  and  down  and  perhaps  there  might 
march  by  a  company  of  British  Grenadiers.  All 
in  strange  contrast  to  the  scene  across  the  river. 
And  then,  if  possible,  might  come  the  crossing 
of  the  river  itself  and  the  victorious  attack  of  that 

176 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

ragged  army  on  the  drunken  Hessians  might  be 
indicated. 

And  the  Boston  Tea  Party,  what  child  —  nay, 
what  American  —  would  not  like  to  reenact  that! 
There  could  be  the  great  meeting  in  the  Old  South 
Church  when  people  came  from  all  around  to  re- 
sist, by  word  and  by  deed,  the  unfair  taxation  of 
the  English.  There  could  be  the  speeches,  set- 
ting before  the  people  the  situation,  and  the  dis- 
cussion. How  could  they  prevent  the  landing  of 
that  infamous  cargo  of  tea?  As  a  last  resort 
they  would  dispatch  Rotch  to  ask  the  Governor 
for  a  pass  out  of  the  harbor.  Just  as  the  day 
grows  to  a  close  and  the  rugged  and  resolute  coun- 
tenances of  those  New  Englanders  are  lighted  by 
the  flicker  of  a  few  candles  in  the  church,  Rotch, 
panting  from  his  haste,  would  burst  Into  the  room, 
make  his  way  up  the  aisle,  and  deliver  the  report: 
"  The  Governor  has  refused  the  pass."  After 
their  unanimous  vote  that  the  cargo  should  never 
be  landed,  now,  what  could  they  do  to  prevent  it? 
They  received  the  news  in  sinister  silence  and 
Samuel  Adams  rose  to  his  feet,  and  throwing  up 
his  arms,  called  out,  "  This  meeting  can  do  noth- 
ing more  to  save  the  country."     Then,  even  then, 

177 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

could  be  heard  the  war  whoop,  shrill,  increasing, 
and  suddenly  dusky  figures,  their  faces  painted 
with  the  red  and  brown  of  the  Indian  war-paint, 
the  war-dress  on  their  heads,  blankets  around 
their  shoulders,  and  swinging  in  their  hands  omi- 
nous hatchets,  would  be  seen  gathering  and  run- 
ning together  through  the  multitude,  down  to- 
ward the  wharfs,  increasing  in  numbers  as  they 
went,  with  Adams  and  Hancock  to  cheer  them. 
And  on  the  faces  of  the  people  would  be  first, 
mystification  and  then  joy  at  the  sound  of  the 
hatchets  as  they  broke  open  the  boxes,  and  at  the 
cries  of  the  "  Indians  "  as  they  threw  that  tea  into 
the  harbor.  Here  would  be  a  Boston  Tea  Party 
indeed ! 

And  then  there  is  the  scene,  the  affecting  scene, 
of  Washington's  farewell  to  his  soldiers.  In  a 
large  public  room  of  the  tavern  on  December  4, 
1783,  his  officers  assembled.  Suddenly  the  Gen- 
eral entered  the  room  amid  silence.  Taking  a 
glass  of  wine  In  his  hand  he  said :  "  With  a  heart 
full  of  love  and  gratitude,  I  now  take  leave  of 
you.  I  most  devoutly  wish  that  your  latter  days 
may  be  as  prosperous  and  happy  as  your  former 
ones  have  been  glorious  and  honorable  " ;  then 
tasting  the  wine  he  continued  his  farewell  in  these 

178 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

words:  "  I  cannot  come  to  each  of  you  to  take 
my  leave,  but  shall  be  obliged  to  you  if  each  will 
come  and  take  me  by  the  hand."  What  sorrow 
and  joy  —  the  sorrow  of  battle  and  the  joy  of 
victory,  the  sorrow  of  parting  and  the  joy  of 
friendship  —  were  expressed  in  that  touching  and 
Impressive  scene  while  the  tears  rolled  down  the 
faces  of  these  war-begrimed  officers  as  Wash- 
ington kissed  each  of  his  companions-In-arms  on 
the  forehead. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  scenes  that  could 
be  utilized  In  impressive  commemoration  of  some 
of  the  great  events  in  our  country.  They  would 
serve  to  make  Washington  and  his  troops  and  the 
struggle  of  the  colonists  more  vivid;  they  would 
inculcate  more  patriotism;  they  would  leave  a  more 
lasting  impression  in  the  minds  of  the  people  than 
our  present  day  "  exercises,"  I  believe.  Of  course 
their  celebration  would  be  affected  somewhat  by 
the  geographical  position  of  the  community,  this 
determining  perhaps  the  stage  of  the  festival, 
whether  indoors  or  outdoors.  Indeed,  it  would 
be  quite  possible  for  children  In  the  school  or  for 
people  In  a  community  to  make  a  play  such  as  did 
the  citizens  of  Rothenburg  on  some  of  these 
events,  or  they  could  be  embodied  In  a  pageant. 

179 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

These  are  but  a  few,  out  of  many  such,  that  are 
symbohc  of  the  spirit  of  our  forefathers  and  of 
the  foundations  on  which  this  country  has  rested 
and  must  continue  to  rest. 

THANKSGIVING    DAY 

Thanksgiving  Day  as  a  festival  has  been 
treated  under  the  head  of  "  Harvest  Festival," 
but  as  a  suggestion,  there  might  be  incorporated  in 
a  pageant  some  of  the  symbols  of  those  changes 
that  have  affected  the  life  of  the  people  since  that 
first  Thanksgiving  Day  in  1623,  For  instance, 
among  those  things  that  have  made  for  the  simple 
comforts  of  common  life  are:  saw-mills;  coal  for 
heating  and  manufacture;  coal  gas  light;  elec- 
tric light;  stoves;  cotton  goods  and  muslins  and 
calicoes  instead  of  homespun;  mirrors  to  reflect 
the  vanities  of  our  pretty  ancestors;  watches;  much 
berated  and  much  beloved  tea  and  coffee;  sewing 
machines;  anaesthetics;  newspapers;  and  many 
other  comforts  due  to  the  advance  of  agriculture, 
scientific  and  artistic  knowledge.  As  a  stimulus 
of  creative  ability  either  in  members  of  a  com- 
munity or  members  of  a  school  this  pageant  would 
afford  an  opportunity  for  the  development  of 
knowledge  and  the  expression  of  that  knowledge 

180 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

combined  with  the  feeling  concerning  it.  I  think, 
also,  that  some  such  pageant  embodying  the  ad- 
vance of  industry  could  fittingly  take  the  place  of 
the  ordinary  Labor  Day  "  parade." 

MEMORIAL   DAY 

In  1868  General  Logan  issued  an  order  and 
named  the  thirtieth  of  May  of  the  same  year, 
"  for  the  purpose  of  strewing  with  flowers  or 
otherwise  decorating  the  graves  of  comrades  who 
died  in  defense  of  their  country  during  the  late 
rebellion,  and  whose  bodies  now  lie  in  almost 
every  city,  village  or  hamlet  churchyard  in  the 
land."  Memorial  Day  is  not  a  national  holiday. 
There  is  one  day  in  the  North  and  another  day 
in  the  South.  Because  the  strife  which  it  marks 
is  of  such  recent  history,  because  some  of  the 
figures  who  took  part  in  it  are  still  alive,  it  is  a 
most  difficult  day  for  a  fitting  celebration  and  is 
probably  best  commemorated  by  strewing  flowers 
on  the  graves  of  the  loved  and  lost.  However, 
it  seems  as  if  in  some  simple  way,  by  stories  and 
by  music  perhaps,  the  spirit  of  unity  which  Me- 
morial Day  implies  should  be  made  vivid  to  the 
children. 

In  the  Atlantic  Monthly  of  1908,  there  is  a 
181 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

story  called,  "  The  Little  Faded  Flag,"  which 
embodies  better  than  any  story  that  I  have  seen 
the  resultant  spirit  of  the  Civil  War.  In  it  a  true 
American  Is  talking  to  a  loyal  Frenchman.  First 
ascertaining  that  he  has  no  immediate  objections 
to  graveyards  the  American  drives  him  through 
the  cemetery  in  order  to  point  out  the  little  faded 
flags  that  adorn  the  graves  of  the  soldiers,  both 
those  of  the  North  and  those  of  the  South.  In 
an  entertaining  way,  then,  he  tells  about  a  re- 
union of  the  Northern  and  of  the  Southern  sol- 
diers that  took  place  In  that  town  and  of  the 
anecdotes  told  by  the  soldiers  who  gathered  on 
his  porch  on  the  eve  of  Memorial  Day  and  dis- 
cussed their  animosities  and  their  campaigns,  one 
with  another.  After  subtly  drawing  out  the 
Frenchman  in  regard  to  the  feeling  of  the  de- 
scendants of  those  who  participated  in  the  war  of 
La  Vendee  in  the  last  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury; how  they  still  smart  under  the  wrongs  in- 
flicted upon  them ;  how  not  a  person  in  one  party 
would  unbend  to  a  member  of  the  other  party, — 
after  making  the  Frenchman  confess  to  this,  the 
American  tells  how  arm  in  arm  the  old  soldiers, 
some  in  blue  and  some  in  gray,  went  to  the  cem- 
etery, and  on  Memorial  Day  put  the  flags  on  the 

182 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

graves  of  the  soldiers  of  the  North  and  those  of 
the  South,  ahke. 

The  Frenchman  sees.  As  he  looks  at  one  flag, 
faded  by  the  exposure  to  the  elements  while  wav- 
ing in  memory  over  the  mound,  he  says:  "I 
have  seen  nothing  in  America  as  wonderful  as 
that  little  faded  flag.  I  understand  what  it  is  of 
which  you  boast.  You  conceive  that  here  in  your 
United  States  exists  a  kind  of  fraternity,  more 
genuine  than  anything  anywhere  else  in  the 
world."     To  which  the  American  replies: 

"  No  nation  ever  produced  anything  to  com- 
pare with  the  spirit  in  which  our  differences  have 
resulted.  That  flag  stands  for  the  most  wonder- 
ful thing  In  all  the  world,  for  the  finest  thing  the 
world  has  ever  produced  yet.  Not  for  talk 
about  brotherhood  but  for  the  real  thing." 

COMMUNITY    FESTIVALS 

The  choice  of  subject  for  a  festival  ought  to  be 
influenced,  too,  by  the  make-up  of  the  community. 
Almost  every  community  in  America  has  some 
foreign  settlements.  Frequently  these  are  sources 
of  annoyance;  almost  always  they  involve  civic 
problems.  Foreigners  do  not  have  our  tradi- 
tions;   we    ignore   theirs.     There    Is    established, 

183 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

therefore,  a  civic  deadline  and  the  results  of 
this  are  frequently  tragic.  In  Twenty  Years  at 
Hull  House,  there  is  a  story  of  an  Italian  woman 
who  came  to  one  of  the  receptions  and  was  over- 
come by  the  pleasure  she  took  in  some  red  roses 
that  she  saw  there.  She  was  surprised  that  they 
had  been  "brought  so  fresh  all  the  way  from 
Italy,"  for  she  could  not  believe  that  they  had 
been  grown  in  America,  never  having  seen  any 
roses  here,  although  in  Italy  they  had  been  very 
abundant.  In  the  same  book  Jane  Addams  says, 
"  I  meditated  that  perhaps  the  power  to  see  life  as 
a  whole,  is  more  needed  in  the  immigrant  quarter 
of  a  large  city  than  anywhere  else,  and  that  the 
lack  of  this  power  is  the  most  fruitful  source  of 
misunderstanding  between  European  immigrants 
and  their  children  as  it  is  between  them  and  their 
American  neighbors."  The  first  generation  of 
immigrants  as  they  come  over  are  much  simpler 
than  the  second  or  third  generations.  They  keep 
their  traditions  better.  They  have  much  that 
they  can  give  to  Americans  and  it  is  time  that  we 
appreciated  and  reverenced  their  past  and  the 
expressions  of  these,  our  neighbors,  for  their 
traditions  are  their  most  precious  possessions. 
Therefore,  we  must  abolish  some  of  these  civic 

184 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

deadlines;  and  the  more  we  keep  in  mind  that  it 
is  to  our  value  as  much  and  more  perhaps  than  it  is 
to  the  value  of  the  foreigners,  the  more  effective 
and  the  more  cultured  will  we  ourselves  become. 

This  is  illustrated,  I  think,  in  the  following 
story : 

If  one  had  turned  into  Oak  Street  that  after- 
noon, he  would  have  stopped  to  rub  his  eyes. 
Could  this  be  a  corner  in  a  city  in  Southern 
Michigan  in  the  United  States  of  America? 
Surely  it  was  an  unwonted  scene  —  these  women 
and  children  and  two  or  three  men  in  the  street, 
dancing  some  strange  folk-dance  to  the  rhythm  of 
the  plaintive  gypsy  strain  they  sang,  their  eyes 
flashing  and  their  nut-brown  skin  contrasting  with 
the  red  handkerchiefs  knotted  round  the  necks  of 
the  men  and  the  splash  of  color  in  the  costumes 
of  the  women  and  children.  As  the  picturesque 
dancers  became  more  exhilarated,  they  beckoned 
to  a  group  of  students  who  stood  awkwardly  at 
one  side. 

Clumsily  the  students  joined  in.  It  seemed 
very  strange;  they  had  danced  with  their  feet  be- 
fore, but  not  with  their  whole  bodies  —  so.  No, 
they  had  never  danced  with  the  life  and  spirit  of 
these   Hungarian   folk.      But  soon  the   contagion 

185 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

crept  Into  their  veins,  and  they  found  themselves 
swinging  their  partners  and  laughing  with  them  as 
if  they  had  been  comrades  always. 

It  was  a  perplexed  group  of  students  who,  dis- 
illusioned by  this  experience,  started  home. 
"  Why  —  they're  human  !  I  don't  think  any  of 
them  ever  committed  a  murder!  "  said  one  girl. 
"And  they're  not  even  dirty!"  said  another,  in 
a  somewhat  disappointed  tone. 

When  an  unsympathetic,  nonconforming  in- 
structor in  a  Normal  school  told  the  students  that 
the  work  in  her  class  would  consist  of  gathering 
material  for  a  Hungarian  festival  to  be  presented 
four  weeks  from  that  day,  they  felt  puzzled,  al- 
most rebellious.  She  offered  them  such  little 
help !  And  when  neither  dictionary,  encyclopae- 
dia, nor  librarian  could  provide  any  information 
dealing  with  "  Hungarian  festival,"  their  patience 
with  "  such  teaching  "  was  at  an  end. 

"  Who  ever  heard  of  giving  out  a  lesson  that 
you  can't  find  in  a  book!  " 

The  next  morning  the  instructor  could  tell  from 
the  ill-hidden  impatience  in  their  eyes  and  manner 
that,  as  a  member  of  the  faculty,  she  had  been 
"  found  wanting."     She  was  somewhat  petulantly 

i86 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

informed  that  they  couldn't  find  out  anything,  that 
there  wasn't  anything  to  be  found. 

"  Isn't  there  a  Hungarian  quarter  in  the  city?  " 
was  her  only  answer. 

Did  she  expect  them  to  go  to  a  quarter  of  the 
city  famed  because  of  a  recent  murder?  To  talk 
to  foreigners  who  were  nothing  but  "  ruffians  " 
and  "  thieves  "  and  "  murderers  "  ! 

"  Perhaps  you  are  mistaken,"  said  the  in- 
structor, with  a  woeful  lack  of  sympathy;  "per- 
haps I  am  mistaken.  But  this  is  research  work, 
and  the  Hungarian  quarter,  for  the  time  being, 
is  your  laboratory." 

And  so  it  was  that,  four  weeks  from  the  day 
when  Oak  Street  in  the  Hungarian  quarter  had 
first  been  the  scene  of  such  an  upheaval  of  tradi- 
tions, there  was  a  gathering  in  the  grove  of  the 
school  to  see  a  "  festival."  It  was  an  Indian- 
summery  day,  as  if  nature,  too,  had  caught  some- 
thing of  the  spirit  of  the  festa.  In  the  audience 
were  a  number  of  dark-skinned,  eager-faced,  vital 
creatures  in  holiday  attire.  *'  They  are  the  Hun- 
garians who  taught  the  class,"  it  was  whispered; 
and  more  than  once  the  spectators  turned  from 
the  dancers  and  the  games  and  the  folk-tales  acted 

187 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

out  on  the  green  to  these  eager,  responsive  people, 
brought  to  this  grove  for  the  first  time,  and  bound 
to  this  class  by  a  common  tie  of  festal  spirit. 

This  was  an  experiment  demonstrating  the  fact 
that  public  education  has  some  other  function  than 
to  impart  to  the  students  learning  gleaned  from 
books.  A  school  is  a  center.  As  such  it  should 
have  an  influence  radiating  into  all  quarters  of 
the  community.  The  work  done  along  the  line 
of  the  Hungarian  festival  not  only  excited  Inter- 
est in  an  Isolated  quarter  of  the  city,  and  so 
abolished  a  civic  deadline,  but  It  helped  to  ger- 
minate a  festal  feeling  in  the  student  body,  the 
growth  of  which  feeling  Is  as  necessary  to  the 
virility  of  this  Nation  as  are  the  pageants  and 
processionals  essential  to  the  life  of  a  foreign 
country.  There  has  been  no  great  country  with- 
out Its  processionals,  its  pageants,  and  Its  festas. 

This  experiment  proved  of  such  Interest  and 
value  that  another  class  started  out  to  explore 
more  unfrequented,  foreign  quarters.  There 
were  In  the  community  some  Greeks  —  not  many, 
but  enough  to  furnish  very  animated  descriptions 
of  the  Olympic  Games.  There  was  one  story, 
too,  told  by  a  little  bootblack  who  had  come  from 
a  Greek  inland  village.     He  said  that  Christmas 

188 


CHOICE  OF  SUBJECT 

time  was  no  festal  time  for  them;  that  it  was  the 
season  for  hobgoblins  and  ghosts  and  devils  who 
pestered  them  continually  between  Christmas  and 
Epiphany.  There  was  no  sun  at  Christmas  time. 
It  was  cold  and  the  "  lame  needles  "  who  are 
dreadful  to  behold,  having  sustained  themselves 
on  snakes  and  lizards  and  bugs  and  sometimes 
even  on  women  come  to  make  trouble,  and  the 
priest  has  to  go  about  from  door  to  door  getting 
rid  of  them.  They  are  driven  away  by  Epiphany 
but  each  year  they  take  a  strike  at  the  tree  that 
supports  the  univ^erse.  And  sometime  it  will 
fall,  broken  by  these  "  lame  needles  "  ! 

From  a  few  Italians  who  kept  the  fruit  stands 
of  the  town  they  gained  some  added  material  on 
the  festivals  of  these  Southern  people.  There 
was  a  little  group  of  French  in  the  town  and  some 
Swedes,  and  you  may  be  sure  they  were  all  ap- 
proached. The  stories  that  they  heard  and  the 
customs  that  they  found,  for  the  most  part,  could 
not  be  gained  from  books.  Using  this  for  ma- 
terial they  supplemented  it  with  other  written 
material,  and  so  they  worked  out  some  very  inter- 
esting community  and  foreign  festivals. 

But  the  change  of  front,  the  widened  horizon 
that  they  gained  in  seeking  their  material  from 

189 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  people  themselves,  was  inestimable.  They 
no  longer  set  these  people  aside,  or  ignored  them, 
but  through  an  attempt  to  understand  them,  and 
to  place  them  in  their  historical  backgrounds,  they 
became  more  powerful  themselves  and  understood 
themselves  better,  and  more  than  all  got  them- 
selves understood  the  better  —  a  task  it  some- 
times takes  all  of  life  and  of  living  to  accomplish. 


190 


PART  V 

Zbc  "Clse  of  ^festivals  in  Connection  witb 
lIMa^groun&s  an&  Scbools 

IN  Twenty  Years  at  Hull  House,  Jane  Ad- 
dams  tells  that  many  years  after  the  first 
playground  was  established  she  met  an  Ital- 
ian who  had  been  one  of  the  most  ardent  "  play- 
ers "  there  and  he  said  to  her  that  he  had  never 
found  a  place  since  then  that  "  seemed  so  much 
like  Italy." 

An  ideal  playground  is  probably  like  Victor 
Hugo's  definition  of  heaven:  "A  place  where 
parents  are  always  young  and  children  always 
little." 

"  When  I  die,"  said  Tom  L.  Johnson  of  Cleve- 
land, "  I  hope  the  people  will  make  a  playground 
over  my  body.  I  would  rather  have  the  children 
romping  over  my  grave  than  a  hundred  monu- 
ments." 

The  playground  movement  is  a  comparatively 
new  one  and  was  organized  to  meet  basic  human 

191 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

need  for  play.  It  is  rather  startling  to  read,  in 
Emmett  Dunn  Angell's  book  on  play:  "  A  com- 
plete history  of  play  would  be  a  history  of  the 
human  race  and  would  carry  us  back  to  the  pre- 
historic." Of  course  the  need  for  playgrounds 
is  largely  in  the  city.  One  of  the  most  pathetic 
sights  is  to  see  children  in  a  crowded  tenement 
district  attempting  to  carry  on  their  play  in  the 
street  and  finally  giving  it  up  as  they  are  jostled 
and  run  down  by  hucksters  and  teamsters.  The 
social  result  of  this  has  been  rather  appalling. 
Children  have  got  to  play;  not  because  they  must 
get  rid  of  a  surplus  of  energy,  as  some  people 
think,  but  because  to  play  is  a  fundamental  in- 
stinct. In  it  "  science  has  her  origin."  In  it 
genius  is  engendered  and  in  it  art  develops,  and 
not  only  art  but  activities  necessary  in  after  life. 
In  the  imagination,  in  the  creativeness,  in  the  con- 
struction, in  the  cooperation,  in  the  means  by 
which  difficulties  are  overcome,  play  touches 
and  feeds  and  develops  fundamental  human  in- 
terests and  needs.  But  more  than  all  this,  it  is  a 
joy,  it  is  a  happiness.  And  I  doubt  if,  as  we 
journey  inland  from  that  sea  that  brought  us 
hither,  we  find  any  more  fundamental  need  than 
that  of  joy  and  happiness. 

192 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

But  viewed  more  cold-bloodedly,  from  the 
standpoint  of  civic  harmony,  the  playground  may 
be  the  center  to  bring  parents  and  children  to- 
gether —  parents  and  children  of  every  nation- 
ality, so  that  they  may  come  to  know  each  other. 
And  it  may  be  the  center  for  the  celebration  of 
national  holidays  and  of  various  recreations,  and 
thus  may  constitute  a  civic  machinery  which 
achieves  a  unity  out  of  diversified  elements  that 
before  had  no  common  meeting  ground. 

To  limit  the  use  of  the  playground  to  the  chil- 
dren would  be  a  fatal  defect.  For  people  work- 
ing in  factories,  often  on  work  that  is  distasteful 
and  automatic,  some  recreation,  and  more  than 
that,  some  self-expression  is  necessary.  When 
we  face  the  fact  that  two  and  a  quarter  mil- 
lion people  attend  the  five  cent  theaters  every 
twenty-four  hours,  we  have  proof  of  this  hunger 
and  need  for  recreation.  But  at  the  play  they 
have  to  watch  somebody  else  do  something  and 
that  other  hunger  of  self-expression  is  starved  un- 
til it  feeds  itself  on  the  sordid,  and  worse  than 
sordid  pleasures  that  commercialism  has  provided 
for  these  same  people.  Many  of  them  would  not 
have  been  destroyed  amid  these  sordid  sports  if 
they  could  have  found  their  help  in  playgrounds. 

195 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

The  influence  that  the  playground  is  exerting  in 
turning  school  buildings  into  recreation  centers 
and  public  parks  into  community  pleasure  centers 
is  one  of  its  greatest  values.  It  is  interesting  to 
read  in  The  Playground,  July,  191 1,  a  paper 
on  "  Tendencies  and  Developments  in  the  Field 
of  Public  Recreation,"  by  H,  S.  Braucher,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Playground  and  Recreation  Association 
of  America,  giving  an  account  of  the  monument 
which  Mr.  F.  B.  Shedd  has  offered  Lowell,  Mas- 
sachusetts. It  is  a  fifty  acre  playground.  And 
its  plan  includes  a  wading  pool,  a  swimming  pool, 
a  shallow  pond  for  small  boats  in  Summer  and  for 
skating  in  Winter,  two  gymnasium  buildings  — 
one  for  men  and  one  for  women  —  tennis  courts, 
an  athletic  field,  a  playground  for  small  children 
and  an  open  air  theater. 

In  reading  about  this  theater  I  was  reminded  of 
the  story  told  by  Miss  Addams  of  an  early  Christ- 
mas celebration  given  at  Hull  House,  Chicago, 
when  the  Golden  Legend  by  Longfellow  was  pre- 
sented. "  I  remember,"  says  Miss  Addams,  "  an 
old  blind  man,  who  took  the  part  of  a  shepherd, 
said,  at  the  end  of  the  last  performance,  '  Kind 
heart,'  a  name  by  which  he  always  addressed  me, 
'  it  seems  to  me  that  I  have  been  waiting  all  my 

194 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

life  to  hear  some  of  these  things  said.  I'm  glad 
we  had  so  many  performances,  for  I  think  I  can 
remember  them  to  the  end.  It  Is  getting  hard 
for  me  to  listen  to  reading,  but  the  different  voices 
and  all  made  this  very  plain.'  "  Then  Miss  Ad- 
dams  goes  on  to  say:  "Had  he  not  perhaps 
made  a  legitimate  demand  upon  the  drama,  that 
It  shall  express  for  us  that  which  we  have  not  been 
able  to  formulate  for  ourselves,  that  It  shall  warm 
us  with  a  sense  of  companionship  with  the  experi- 
ences of  others ;  does  not  every  genuine  drama 
present  our  relations  to  each  other  and  to  the 
world  In  which  we  find  ourselves  in  such  wise  as 
may  fortify  us  to  the  end  of  the  journey?  " 

That  is  the  glory  of  the  playground  which  has 
Its  corners  for  small  and  for  big  dramas.  We 
meet  there,  not  only  the  people  of  our  own  day, 
and  the  companions  of  other  races,  but  the  com- 
panions of  other  days  and  of  all  lands.  Truly  it 
must  fortify  to  the  end  of  the  journey. 
/  Before  drama,  however,  came  rhythm  or  dance. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  beneficent  of  plays.  It  is 
the  mother  of  music,  poetry,  and  drama.  It  Is 
the  natural  expression  of  feeling.  What  a  word 
cannot  express,  a  motion,  a  gesture  that  goes  more 
directly  to  the  heart,   frequently  can.      Probably^ 

195 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

the  dance  is  the  most  remembered  recrea- 
tion that  the  peasant  brings  with  him  when  he 
immigrates  to  this  country.  Here  he  loses  it. 
America  has  in  its  ranks  more  foreign  national- 
ities represented  than  any  other  nation.  They 
bring  with  them,  as  precious  possessions,  their 
folk  music,  their  folk  games,  their  folk  dances, 
and  yet  as  a  nation  we  have  less  of  a  folk-art  than 
any  one  of  the  foreign  colonies  that  settle  in  our 
country.  Their  "  precious  possessions  "  soon  be-  i 
come  relics  and  like  the  Italian  woman's  red  roses, 
exist  only  in  the  memory  of  their  home.  Now, 
the  dance  is  a  social  inheritance  and  if  by  migra- 
ting they  lose  it  along  with  their  social  life,  then 
we  must  be  prepared  for  the  breaking  up  of 
that  social  fabric,  which  frequently  results  in  crim- 
inality. Into  a  new  social  fabric  we  must  weave 
the  woof  of  their  old  customs. 

As  Americans  we  are  apt  to  use  the  word, 
"  dance,"  in  the  limited  sense  of  our  own  awk- 
ward and  clumsy  steps.  Savage  tribes  showed 
their  moods  and  told  their  stories  in  their  funeral 
dances,  their  war  dances,  and  their  various  dances 
representing  the  story  of  their  everyday  exist- 
ence. A  dance,  to  the  Ancient  Greeks  or  Ro- 
mans, might  also  mean  a  processional  to  the  altar 

196 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

where  were  to  be  placed  their  sacrifices.  In  It, 
the  feelings  of  the  soul  were  expressed  by  the 
body,  and  it  was  worship. 

To  make  the  dance  an  expression  from  within 
—  as  is  natural  —  rather  than  an  ulterior  object, 
is  rather  difficult  it  would  seem,  especially  with 
those,  and  they  are  many,  who  appear  to  be  "  tied 
for  life  in  a  bag  which  no  one  can  undo."  That 
it  is  possible  was  demonstrated  by  Miss  Lucy 
Gage  in  her  kindergarten  class.  Although  the 
exercise  was  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
the  students  something  that  they  could  pass  on 
to  the  children,  it  was  most  beneficial  in  developing 
the  students  themselves.  They  were  divided  into 
groups  and  were  to  work  out,  in  the  dance,  an 
expression  that  would  stand  for  a  picture  or  a 
story  that  the  child  would  like  to  express.  They 
were  to  see  it  from  the  child's  mind,  and  so  pre- 
sent it.  In  this  overcivilized  and  overcultured 
age,  with  students  in  their  teens,  this  was  asking 
them  to  make  a  long  leap  —  almost  into  pre- 
historic times. 

They  chose  Hallowe'en  for  the  subject  and  the 
motive.  There  were  four  groups  and  each  per- 
son in  each  group  was  to  contribute  an  idea.  In 
the  first  group,  they  developed  a  witches'  dance. 

197 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Arrayed  in  sheets,  and  carrying  brooms,  they  in- 
dicated in  the  pantomimic  dance  the  way  they  rode 
through  the  air;  then  they  built  a  fire  and  around 
it  had  a  wild,  mad,  wicked  whirl  stopping  only  to 
drink  from  their  flagons  before  mounting  their 
brooms  and  riding  away.  The  second  group 
were  displayed  as  Jack-o'-lanterns  sitting  on  a 
fence,  nodding  and  talking  to  each  other.  From 
the  fence  they  tumbled  into  a  very  fat  pumpkin 
dance,  putting  their  heads  together  and  looking 
in  at  the  windows.  Another  group  made  a  very 
amusing  dance  by  putting  on  their  things  hind- 
side-before  and  suiting  all  their  movements  to 
their  appearance  —  not  an  easy  thing  to  do! 
The  last  group  were  Brownies  who  danced  in  as 
the  clock  struck  one.  As  it  struck  two,  they 
danced  in  a  mad  scramble,  forming  into  a  circle 
and  playing  leap-frog  and  tag,  dancing  faster  and 
faster,  at  each  stroke  of  the  clock,  until  at  five 
o'clock  they  whisked  away. 

In  working  these  out,  they  had  to  rely  on  their 
own  music  as  well  as  their  own  pantomime. 
Many  a  hitherto  inharmonic  soul  developed  into 
quite  a  musician.  One  would  sit  at  the  piano  and 
play.  "  No,  that  isn't  the  right  time,"  another 
would  say.      "  See,  I  want  something  that  will  go 

198 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

with  this,"  and  she  would  throw  the  feeling  that 
she  wished  to  express  into  her  body.  So  the  time 
of  the  music  would  be  changed,  and  very  often 
the  key  also  to  fit  the  mood  of  the  dance.  As 
each  had  to  cooperate  in  this  way  they  realized 
that  rhythm  is  the  mother  of  music. 

How  deeply  the  Spaniards  love  their  dancing 
and  how  they  cling  to  it  is  revealed  in  the  old  cus- 
tom in  Seville  of  dancing  in  the  cathedral  on 
certain  fete  days  —  Christmas,  Corpus  Christi 
Day,  and  Easter,  I  think.  This  is  called  the  dance 
of  the  Seises  and  is  supposed  to  be  an  imitation 
of  the  Israelites  before  the  Ark.  The  custom  is 
very  old.  They  call  it  dancing,  though  in  real- 
ity it  is  like  the  old  dancing  —  a  very  graceful 
and  meaningful  expression  of  the  soul  and  body. 
The  music  is  sacred,  and  is  under  the  custody 
of  the  organist  alone.  The  choir  boys  carry 
castanets,  and  from  time  to  time  clap  them  in 
measure  to  the  music.  They  dance  before  the  al- 
tar, in  the  chancel  itself,  and  between  the  stalls 
of  the  clergy  who  assist  in  great  splendor;  for 
many  tapers  are  lighted;  much  incense  is  swung 
while  these  choir  boys  step  to  the  exquisite  music 
of  the  flutes  and  violins  and  organ.  They  wear 
a  costume  much  like  that  of  a  page  —  plumed  hat, 

199 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

and  silk  knickerbockers,  with  lace  falling  over  soft 
colors.  A  pretty  tale  is  told  about  these  costumes. 
It  seems  that  at  a  certain  time  this  self-same  dance 
existed  in  other  cathedrals  of  Spain  but  was  put 
under  ban.  The  people  of  Seville,  however,  could 
not  give  up  this  religious  performance  —  for  to 
them  it  was  religious.  So  they  struggled  for  it. 
They  sent  their  choir  boys  and  dancers  with  fine 
new  costumes  to  Rome  to  prove  to  the  Pope  that 
the  dance  was  not  irreverent,  not  sacrilegious  but 
reverent  and  holy.  And  the  Pope  found  it  so  — 
but  being  a  pope  and  a  diplomat,  he  neither  con- 
sented nor  forbade  its  continuance.  Indeed,  he 
said  that  the  dance  ought  to  grace  the  cathedral 
until  the  dancers  had  to  have  new  costumes.  So 
never  have  they  had  to  have  a  new  costume  1 
They  procure  only  a  bit  here  and  a  bit  there,  a  new 
plume,  a  new  buckle,  a  new  cord  or  a  new  frill, 
from  time  to  time,  and  the  music  of  the  dance 
can  still  be  heard  on  certain  days  in  the  cathedral 
at  Seville. 

If  we  would  cling  as  fervently  to  our  heritage 
how  rich  in  creation  and  art  our  life  might  be. 
This  the  playground  is  helping.  Neighborhood 
festivals,  too,  create  a  community  feeling.  In 
Pasadena,  California,  two  thousand  children  and 

200 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

adults  had  a  Hallowe'en  Frolic.  Dressed  in  mas- 
querade costumes  they  joined  together  in  their 
play  —  so  making  it  easier  to  join  together  in 
their  work.  In  many  cities  various  play  festivals 
in  which  thousands  took  part  and  bringing  thou- 
sands as  spectators,  demonstrated  that  cities  as 
well  as  villages  can  play. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  that  the 
playgrounds  and  schools  and  all  communities  have 
to  meet  is  the  period  of  adolescence.  At  this 
period  it  has  been  proved  children  prefer  to  pre- 
sent scenes  of  more  elaboration  and  dignity  than 
they  would  be  able  to  originate  for  themselves. 
So,  too,  with  their  games.  And  here  Is  the  chance 
to  make  the  impression  upon  them  of  the  great 
heroes  and  the  great  masterpieces.  Scenes  from 
Shakespeare  they  look  for.  Julius  Caesar  is  an 
idol.  If  they  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  enjoy 
means  for  self-expression  before  this  age,  it  is  not 
so  difficult  to  direct  their  acquaintance  with  the 
great  in  life  and  art. 

The  legend  of  St.  George  is  particularly  fitting 
for  this  time.  The  favorite  version  tells  us  that 
outside  of  the  gates  of  Tabiam,  a  mighty 
town,  was  a  pool  walled  about  by  stone,  and  in  it 
a  lonely  dragon  dwelt.     Each  day  he  devoured 

201 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

some  victim,  or  puffed  his  poisonous  breath,  and 
whoever  inhaled  it  was  doomed  to  death.  The 
King  and  the  Emperor  took  counsel  together 
as  to  who  should  be  the  next  sacrifice  to  the 
rapacity  of  the  dragon.  Lots  were  cast  and 
the  doom  fell  to  the  Princess,  the  daughter  of  the 
King,  who  wrung  his  hands  for  very  woe.  But 
the  maiden  rose  and  dressed  herself  in  her  rich- 
est robes;  took  a  little  lamb  in  her  arms  and  left 
the  castle  gate.  When  she  stood  in  front  of  the 
cave  of  the  dragon,  suddenly  she  saw  St.  George 
riding  quickly  towards  her.  His  horse  was  white 
and  his  banner  was  red,  so  the  maiden  knew  that 
this  was  no  other  than  that  holy  champion.  [I 
quote  from  a  translation  published  in  St.  George 
of  Cappadocia  in  Legend  and  History  by  Cor- 
nelia Stekette  Hulst,] 

"  Speak  noble  maiden,  speak  and  say 
Why  here  you  stand  alone. 
And  tell  me,  noble  maiden,  why 
You  drop  the  frequent  tear; 
If  robbed  you've  been  or  foully  used, 
Your  grief  I  fain  would  hear." 

"  I  weep  that  to  a  loathy  worm 
My  parents  me  must  give ; 
Ride,  gallant  youth,  ride  hence  away, 
If  longer  you  would  live." 

202 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

"  Fly  will  not  I,  nor  leave  your  side 
In  this  )'our  hour  of  grief; 
I've  to  the  holy  Virgin  vowed 
To  haste  to  your  relief." 

And  when  the  dragon  flew  at  the  knight,  St. 
George  drove  his  lance  Into  its  neck.  The  lance 
splintered  into  three  parts,  but  as  swift  as  a  bird 
could  fly  he  unsheathed  his  sword  and  drew  and 
dealt  so  many  blows,  charging  the  dragon  In  the 
name  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  close  Its  "  fetid  maw," 
that  finally  the  maiden  under  his  direction  was 
able  to  bind  the  monster's  head  and  lead  It  to  the 
city  that  the  friends  and  townsmen  might  see,  and 
so  take  on  the  Christian  faith.  The  king  In  an- 
swer says: 

"  Thy  faith  we  take,  myself  and  realm 
Of  all  and  each  degree: 
My  daughter,  her  to  thee  I  give, 
Thine  equal  she  shall  be." 

"  Nay,  though  she  be  of  equal  rank 
My  troth  I  dare  not  plight, 
I've  to  the  Virgin  made  a  vow 
To  live  her  loyal  knight." 

In  August,  every  year,  at  Furth  Im  Walde,  Ger- 
many, this  story  Is  acted,  and  probably  has  been 

203 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

represented  in  the  city  since  the  latter  half  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  Now  the  play  is  more  or  less 
detached  from  St.  George,  and  the  Ritter  who  is 
to  slay  the  dragon  and  save  the  princess  takes  his 
place.  The  processional  is  made  up  of  floats 
showing  the  knight  and  his  attendants;  the  castle 
in  which  are  the  weeping  family  of  the  princess; 
crusaders;  and  scenes  in  the  history  of  the  city. 
When  they  arrive  at  the  square,  there  is  a  play 
which  follows  very  closely  the  story  of  St.  George 
and  the  Dragon.  When  the  Ritter  goes  forth  to 
meet  the  dragon,  he  faces  a  tremendous  monster 
made  of  wood  and  covered  with  scales.  Two 
men  within  it  make  it  effective  as  a  dragon.  It  is 
killed  by  the  point  of  the  lance  and  if  the  Ritter  is 
fortunate,  the  monster  sinks  down  in  a  "  sea  "  of 
blood  which  pours  from  its  mouth,  for  a  theat- 
rical arrangement  makes  this  possible.  And  the 
princess  marries  the  knight. 

There  have  been  many  orders  of  St.  George 
and  at  present  there  is  in  England  The  Royal  So- 
ciety of  St.  George  which  was  founded  for  the 
purpose  of  reviving  his  celebration  on  April  23, 
his  holy  day. 

This  hero  and  the  Knights  of  the  Round  Table 
204 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

are  very  great  favorites  with  children  at  this  very 
difficult  time  of  their  development. 

If  well  directed,  some  of  the  old  formal  dances 
such  as  the  minuet  and  the  pavonne  and  others  of 
their  character  form  a  good  basis  on  which,  at 
this  age,  the  youth  may  meet  the  maiden.  There 
is  something  formal  in  them  —  a  sort  of  courtly 
organization  —  recalling  that  age  of  chivalry, 
and  they  appeal  to  the  youths  and  maidens.  Any- 
thing that  gives  them  a  chance  to  meet  together 
with  as  little  awkwardness  and  as  little  self-con- 
sciousness as  possible  —  on  an  equal  footing  — 
will  help  them  over  this  turnstile  in  their  journey. 
In  the  playground  a  community  grows  up  together, 
united  by  the  same  pastimes,  and  the  transition  is 
made  more  easily.  This  is  particularly  true  when 
the  adults  have  joined  with  the  young  in  their 
recreation.  For  here  it  is  not  an  infrequent  sight 
to  see  an  old  parent  revived  by  the  sight  of  his 
child  in  an  old-time  dance,  join  in  the  dance  as 
well  as  in  other  recreations. 

Then,  too,  it  is  true  that  the  people  who  are 
more  or  less  undeveloped  such  as  the  immigrant 
portion  of  our  population  must  get  their  educa- 
tion and  their  knowledge  in  a  light  way.     They 

205 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

must  be  taught  as  Francis  of  Assisi  taught  the 
people  of  his  time  —  as  the  early  church  taught 
their  peoples  —  in  an  easy,  in  an  appealing  way. 
This  is  done  through  the  vision,  largely,  first, 
and  then  through  participation.  If  we  can  give 
them  something  to  make  easier  their  drudging 
work;  if  we  can  connect  them  with  the  great 
world  around  them  so  that  their  mind  and  feeling 
may  be  busy  with  a  larger  life,  we  are  giving  them 
and  ourselves  more  abundant  life.  For  we  must 
never  lose  sight  of  the  truth  that  the  reaction  of 
this  is  upon  us  and  that  we  are  stretching  our  own 
horizons  to  meet  the  ever-widening  boundaries 
of  our  own  bigger  living.  There  is,  of  course, 
no  one  form  of  expression  that  will  meet  entirely 
this  need,  nor  can  it  be  met  by  any  one  organiza- 
tion. All  parts  of  our  life  must  meet  upon  this 
one  field.  But  the  school  and  the  playground  in 
stimulating  thoughts  and  efforts  for  a  greater  so- 
cial expression  is  stimulating  a  better  civil,  a  bet- 
ter political  and  a  clearer  national  life. 

An  announcement  at  one  of  the  playgrounds 
that  there  will  be  an  evening  of  Folk  Songs  of 
Scandinavia  brings  out  numbers  of  Norse  and 
Swedish  people.  An  announcement  that  a  dra- 
matic club  is  to  be  formed  will  call  out  many  who 

206 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

are  eager  to  simulate  life.  In  fact  this  is  an  al- 
most universal  desire.  People  lov^e  to  see  a 
play,  from  melodrama  to  tragedy.  One  reason 
is,  I  believe,  that  here  we  get  a  story  complete. 
We  see  the  growth  of  this  from  the  time  that  the 
seed  is  planted  to  the  fruits  of  the  full-grown  tree. 
It  is  not  so  in  the  bewildering  tangle  of  life.  We 
cannot  always  see  what  will  be  the  fruit  of  the 
seeds  we  plant.  If  we  could  but  know!  And  In 
its  unraveling  of  the  knot,  the  play  helps  us  to 
get  a  little  clearer  vision.  So  the  play  has  ever 
been  dear  as  a  form  of  expression. 

New  Britain,  Connecticut,  has  a  problem 
hardly  to  be  realized  even  when  it  is  stated.  In 
its  population  are  twenty  thousand  wage  earners 
from  every  country  of  Europe  and  Asia  —  from 
more  than  forty  pure  or  mixed  races.  They  are 
employed  in  the  dozen  or  more  factories  ^tuated 
there.  Indeed  eighty-five  per  cent,  is  foreign  born 
or  of  foreign  parentage.  Now  what  about  the 
civic  life  of  that  community?  How  shall  these 
highly  romantic  people  get  any  of  the  American 
spirit? 

The  town,  thinking  of  this,  organized  a  pageant 
In  honor  of  Elihu  Burritt,  the  "  peace  "  black- 
smith, for  to  do  honor  to  him  all  people  can  unite. 

207 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

And  these  are  only  a  few  of  the  problems  of 
America  that  the  playground  Is  trying  to  solve. 

SCHOOLS 

Perhaps  the  most  logical  place  for  the  festival 
to  exist  as  a  careful  study  and  as  a  definite  factor 
is  in  the  school.  When  parents  begin  to  feel  the 
need  of  anything  in  the  development  of  their  chil- 
dren they  look  for  It  to  begin,  usually,  In  the 
school.  I  have  suggested  and  Illustrated  different 
kinds  of  festivals  and  different  methods  of  work- 
ing them  out  in  the  preceding  pages.  Of  course, 
this  subject  as  far  as  Its  American  participation  is 
concerned  is  still  in  Its  Infancy,  and  liable  to  much 
misunderstanding, —  and  to  many  mistakes.  It 
calls  for  pioneer  courage  and  hardiness.  I  re- 
member very  well  when  It  became  a  great  desire 
of  mine  to  unite  the  different  departments  of  a 
Normal  school  in  a  great  historical  pageant.  I 
dreamed  about  it  at  night !  I  thought,  for  In- 
stance, how  the  Art  department  could  take  charge 
of  the  costuming  and  the  grouping  —  working  out 
the  historical  costumes  and  the  artistic  portrayal 
from  the  art  side  of  the  history  of  the  State.  I 
thought  how  much  the  History  department  would 
gain  from  the  added  stimulus  if  these  students 

208 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

would  not  only  get  the  history  but  would  also  use 
it.  In  a  certain  sense  they  would  have  that  mirac- 
ulous power  of  making  something  plastic  and  alive 
out  of  something  that  usually  seemed  set  and  dead. 
Then,  the  English  department  —  what  a  chance 
they  had  in  this!  Here  was  a  vehicle  ready  to 
their  hand  which  would  contain  so  much  interest 
that  it  would  be  no  trouble  at  all  to  shp  In  pellets 
of  grammar  and  rhetoric  and  dramatic  structure 
without  much  upsetting  the  digestion  of  their  pa- 
tients and  so  would  turn  a  laboratory  into  a 
bower.  Oh,  I  did  have  unbridled  dreams  about 
it !  Then  there  was  the  stage  management  that 
could  be  undertaken  by  the  Manual  Training  de- 
partment; and  the  costumes  could  be  made  in  the 
Domestic  Science  department.  And  the  Music 
department  would  of  course  be  one  of  the  chief 
factors.  Here  was  a  big  piece  of  creative  work 
—  quite  worthy  of  all  our  effort,  both  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  participants  and  of  the  specta- 
tors. 

It  offered  some  difficulties,  but  I  saw  them  all 
through  rose-colored  glasses.  In  the  first  place 
this  work  had  no  definite  place  in  the  school  cur- 
riculum. Well,  thought  I,  one  could  be  made. 
Then  the  departments  in  the  school  were  about  as 

209 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

unrelated  to  one  another  as  they  could  well  be  and 
still  work  In  the  same  center.  The  festival  would 
fix  that,  I  was  sure.  Then  many,  oh,  very  many 
in  the  school,  had  never  had  an  opportunity  to  join 
in  any  such  social  self-expression.  We  did  have 
plays,  but  the  number  In  these  was  small  and  left 
untouched  many  of  those  who  most  needed  just 
this  experience.  Here  would  be  a  chance  for  all 
to  be  doers  —  a  great  thing ! 

So  I  took  my  idea  to  the  President.  He  was 
noncommittal,  offering,  however,  to  put  the  plan 
before  a  committee.  Still  Immersed  in  the  won- 
derful color  of  this  plan  I  went  to  that  committee 
meeting.  It  was  a  cold,  clammy  affair.  The 
History  department  thought  that  no  time  could 
be  spent  on  "  outside  "  things  —  that  they  got 
little  enough  history  as  it  was  without  "  playing  " 
in  it.  The  English  representative  was  very  cer- 
tain that  this  was  but  a  frivolous  treatment  of  a 
serious  subject.  It  would  do  very  well  for  an 
outside  event  —  it  was  nice  to  have  a  play  now 
and  then  if  the  play  could  be  arranged  so  as  not 
to  take  any  of  the  time  of  the  pupils  that  should 
be  spent  in  serious  and  profitable  work.  One  or 
two  saw  the  possibilities  of  it  and  thought  that 
"  next  year  "   it  ought  to  be  taken  up.     These 

210 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

were  from  the  Training  school  and  had  been  do- 
ing some  work  along  the  festival  line,  so  their 
values  were  different.  I  had  one  or  two  ardent 
supporters  —  but  they  were  wiser  than  I,  and  saw 
the  uselessness  of  pushing  it  at  that  time.  I  tried 
to  fight,  but  the  color  had  faded  and  when  it  and  I 
had  been  sufficiently  "  sat  upon,"  I  left  feeling 
rather  hopeless.  My  two  "  backers  "  gave  me 
encouragement  and  after  I  had  remained  long 
enough  in  the  depths,  I  determined  to  try  it  any- 
way. As  it  was,  it  was  better  no  doubt.  I 
needed  the  experience  of  a  few  small  festivals 
before  trying  anything  on  such  a  large  scale.  In 
that  way  the  committee  builded  better  than  it 
knew.  But  the  oppressing  and  the  depressing 
and  almost  overwhelming  effect  on  me  of  the  con- 
ference was  that  I  knew  just  how  they  regarded 
this  work;  as  something  "  outside,"  something  of 
"  play  "  (they  used  the  word  as  opposed  to  "  seri- 
ous"), and  in  fact  quite  as  a  useless  embroidery. 
This  was  not  true  of  all  of  them,  it  is  only  fair 
to  state;  it  was  true,  at  that  time,  of  the  ma- 
jority. And  there  was  no  spirit  of  cooperation 
among  most  of  the  departments.  Well,  as  I  re- 
peated to  myself,  I  was  going  to  do  it  anyway,  so 
three   classes   worked   out  some   of  the    festivals 

211 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

used  as  illustrations  in  this  book.  My  courage 
was  not  all  gone,  and  I  asked  that  the  classes 
which  recited  from  three  to  four  on  the  day  on 
which  we  gave  our  festival  might  be  excused. 
Naturally,  working  with  so  many  pupils  (I  think 
there  were  fifty  in  the  three  festivals),  reports 
concerning  it  had  been  noised  abroad,  thus  crea- 
ting a  public  curiosity,  and  quite  an  audience  was 
assembled.  Festivals  were  somewhat  nurtured, 
after  that,  in  the  school,  and  an  inglorious  defeat 
leaped  into  something  of  a  victory,  at  least. 

Now  one  of  the  difficulties  in  this  work  is  that 
having  once  established  a  certain  form  of  festival 
all  those  that  come  after  are  apt  to  fall  into  that 
same  mold.  This  is  unfortunate  because  there 
Is  a  place  for  all  types  from  the  simple  ones  on 
a  bare  stage  with  no  effort  at  costume  effects  to 
the  very  brilliant  spectacular  pageants.  A  simple 
one  allows  of  more  active  participation  by  a  few, 
it  may  be,  and  therefore  Its  immediate  effect  on 
the  participants  may  be  more  keenly  felt.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  pageant  and  festival  com- 
bined may  fulfill  some  of  the  functions  that  I 
hoped  for  it  In  my  wonderful  dream.  And  In 
between  these  two  are  so  many  varieties,  some  of 
which  I  have  told  about  or  suggested  in  the  pre- 

212 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

ceding  parts,  that  they  can  be  made  to  fulfill  many 
interests  and  activities  and  can  be  made  a  posi- 
tive factor  in  building  for  one's  self,  in  building 
for  others,  or  for  the  world. 

That  the  festival  can  be  made  the  fruit  of  work 
coordinated  in  different  departments,  even  in  the 
lower  grades,  is  a  fact  that  has  been  demonstrated. 
In  one  third  grade,  for  twelve  weeks  the  children 
studied  the  Phoenicians  and  Vikings  as  types  of 
early  traders.  In  order  to  make  the  people  live 
people  and  the  situations  real  ones,  they  studied 
it  from  every  angle.  In  the  geography  class,  for 
instance,  they  got  a  vivid  setting  by  looking  at 
pictures  and  maps  and  then  working  them  out  on 
the  sand  table.  Studying  about  the  dress  and 
appearance  of  the  people  made  the  industrial 
life  and  the  conditions  that  gave  rise  to  trade 
more  real.  After  they  had  been  studying  some 
time  they  thought  that  they  would  like  to  make 
the  culmination  of  their  work  a  "  Trading  Scene." 
In  their  reading  class  they  read  some  Viking 
Tales  thus  gaining  some  idea  of  the  choice  of 
words  that  would  lend  color  to  the  scene.  In 
their  language  class  they  worked  out  the  "  scene." 
They  tried  to  imagine  the  situation.  Then  they 
would  sometimes  act  it  out,  and  afterwards  write 

213 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

it.  And  sometimes  they  would  write  it  and  then 
act  it,  frequently  finding  that  it  wouldn't  work, 
and  so  they  would  have  to  rewrite  it. 

They  said  that  they  wanted  a  "  sailing  song." 
So  they  worked  on  some  good  words  that  would 
describe  the  pictures  that  they  might  want  to  put 
into  the  song.  They,  from  their  study,  knew 
what  the  general  tone  of  the  song  ought  to  be  in 
order  to  fit  the  Norse  people.  But  during  one 
whole  class  period  they  labored  over  the  verse 
with  little  success.  Then  they  were  given  it  as 
a  lesson  to  take  home.  The  next  day  the  boy 
who  had  the  liveliest  imagination,  as  the  teacher 
said,  and  the  keenest  poetic  feeling,  came  to  school 
with  the  first  verse  worked  out  almost  as  it  is 
given  here.  With  this  as  a  start  the  class  was 
able  to  finish  the  words. 

Then  came  the  music.  The  music  teacher  had 
devoted  two  or  three  periods  to  playing  and  sing- 
ing for  them  some  Norse  music.  One  period  the 
children  took  the  words  and  hummed  some  tunes 
until  one  would  find  something  which  fitted  the 
first  line.  The  music  instructor  then  wrote  the 
notes  as  they  had  hummed  them  on  the  board. 
They  fell  naturally  into  the  minor  without  any 
suggestion  from  "  outside." 

214 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

Every  point  of  historical  value  brought  out  in 
the  play  had  been  developed  through  class  study. 
Asking  you  to  keep  in  mind  that  this  was  a  third 
grade  exercise,  I  give  the  scene  copied  from  the 
Kalamazoo  Normal  Record  as  a  fruit,  and  a 
valued  one  of  the  festival  movement. 

A    TR-ADIXG    SCENE 

Scene:  kixg  harald's  palace  in  Norway.  {Soldiers 
sitting  about  the  room  shining  their  shields  and  swords.) 

First  Soldier.  {Looking  at  his  shield  fondly.)  You 
have  protected  me  from  many  a  blow  and  warded  off 
many  bites  of  the  enemies'  sword. 

Second  Soldier.  You  talk  as  if  that  were  an  en- 
chanted shield. 

First  Soldier.  Sometimes  I  think  it  is  because  it  has 
guarded  me  so  faithfully.  Its  first  owner,  one  of  the 
bravest  of  our  kingdom,  is  now  drinking  in  Valhalla. 

Second  Soldier.     Who  was  its  first  owner? 

First  Soldier.  Thorkel,  the  Mighty.  When  he  re- 
ceived his  death  blow  he  gave  me  this  shield  and  asked 
me  to  carry  it  when  I  was  on  the  battlefield. 

Third  Soldier.  {Laying  aside  his  luork.)  My  shield 
is  again  ready  for  battle. 

Fourth  Soldier.     My  spear  is  ready,  too. 

Fifth  Soldier.  Wliere  are  the  other  men  this  morn- 
ing? 

First  Soldier.  They  are  guarding  the  ships  down  in 
the  fiord. 

215 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Second  Soldier.  Here  are  some  of  them  now.  I 
wonder  if  they  are  bringing  any  news. 

First  Sailor.  {Enter  men  from  boat.)  Yes,  we 
have  news.     A  strange  boat  is  entering  our  fiord. 

{Men  spring  to  feet  dropping  shields  and  spears.) 

First  Soldier.     What  does  it  look  like? 

Second  Soldier.     Does  it  carry  friends  or  foes? 

First  Sailor.  We  do  not  know.  No  boat  like  it  has 
ever  sailed  in  our  fiord  before. 

{Enter  Harald,  noise  stops.  Soldiers  look  toward 
the  king.) 

Harald.     Why  all  this  clatter? 

First  Sailor.     A  strange  sail  is  entering  our  harbor. 

Harald.     Tell  me  about  it. 

First  Sailor.  Its  sails  are  of  beautiful  purple. 
There  are  three  banks  of  oars  and  it  carries  more  men 
than  our  dragons  do. 

{Thrall  comes  running  in  and  bows  before  the  king.) 

Harald.     What  is  it? 

Thrall.  A  messenger  is  at  the  door.  He  comes 
from  the  strange  boat. 

Harald.     Show  him  in. 

{Thrall  goes  out  and  returns  with  messenger.)  From 
whom  do  you  come? 

Messenger.  I  come  from  Prince  Hiram  of  Phoeni- 
cia. He  lies  below  in  his  boat.  He  sends  greeting  to 
King  Harald. 

Harald.  Tell  Prince  Hiram  I  welcome  him  and  his 
sailors  to  our  court,  li  he  has  brought  goods  to  trade 
ask    him    to    bring    them    in.      {Messenger    goes    out.) 

2i6 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

Thralls!  {Two  thralls  come  in.)  You,  make  ready  a 
seat  for  the  prince,  and  you,  {turning  to  the  second 
thrall),  bring  in  the  Queen  and  her  ladies.  {An  extra 
seat  is  made  ready  and  the  Queen  enters  with  her  ladies.) 
We  have  guests  this  morning. 

Queen.     So  the  thralls  tell  me.     Where  are  they? 

Harald.  Here  they  are  now.  {Enter  messenger 
with  prince  and  his  men.) 

Messenger.     Prince  Hiram. 

Harald.     I  welcome  you,  Prince  Hiram. 

Queen.     I,  too,  welcome  you. 

King.  Have  this  seat.  Why  have  you  entered  our 
fiord? 

Hiram.  In  far  Phoenicia  we  have  often  heard  of  your 
beautiful  amber.  The  king,  my  father,  wishes  to  give  a 
gift  to  my  mother.  He  thinks  she  will  like  nothing  bet- 
ter than  a  necklace  of  this  amber.  So  we  have  come  this 
long  way  to  trade  for  it. 

Harald.     What  have  you  to  trade  for  it? 

Hiram.  {Turning  to  servants.)  Bring  in  the  chests. 
{Chest  is  brought  in.)  Unlock  the  chest  and  show  the 
Queen  and  her  ladies  the  beautiful  silk.  {Servant  holds 
up  purple  silk.)  This  beautiful  purple  cloth  was  woven 
in  Tyre  and  was  dyed  with  the  color  taken  from  the 
murex,  a  shell-fish  caught  in  the  Mediterranean  along  the 
shores  of  Phoenicia. 

Queen.  We  must  have  some  of  this  beautiful  cloth 
for  King  Harald's  roj^al  robe. 

{Servant  takes  out  of  chest  striped  silk.) 


217 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Hiram.  Long  caravans  of  our  camels  have  traveled 
over  desert  to  Arabia  for  this  silk. 

Queen.     This  silk  will  make  aprons  for  my  ladies. 

Harald.  Surely  your  people  know  how  to  make 
beautiful  things.  Thrall!  {Thrall  runs  in.)  Bring  in 
the  chest  of  amber.  This  is  the  most  precious  necklace 
we  have.  I  am  sorry  to  see  this  go  away  from  Norway 
but  seeing  you  have  come  this  long  way  for  it,  I  gladly 
send  it  to  your  father,  King  Abebaal. 

Hiram.  We  are  grateful,  King  Harald,  I  am  sure  it 
will  please  my  father  very  much.  How  much  of  my  silk 
would  you  want  for  it? 

Harald.     Let  the  Queen  answer  that. 

Queen.  Give  us  enough  of  your  beautiful  purple 
cloth  to  make  a  robe  for  King  Harald  and  enough  of  the 
Arabian  silk  to  make  aprons  for  my  ladies,  and  we  will  be 
satisfied. 

Hiram.  Certainly,  that  is  a  fair  trade.  Come,  my 
sailors,  we  must  be  off. 

Harald.  Surely  you  will  not  go  until  you  have  had 
a  horn  of  mead  with  us. 

Hiram.     We  shall  be  glad  to  drink  with  you. 

Harald.  Thralls.  {Thralls  come  in.)  Bring  in 
the  tubs  of  mead.      {Thralls  bring  in  tub.) 

Queen.  {Turning  to  ladies.)  Will  you  serve  these 
gentlemen?     {Ladies  pass  mead  horns.) 

Hiram.  Haven't  you  a  skald  in  your  court  who  can 
sing  us  a  song  before  we  drink? 

Harald.  No,  we  have  no  skald  in  court  now,  but, 
perhaps  we  can  all  sing  you  a  song. 

218 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

vaKiNGS  sing: 

The  dragon  head,  hurrah! 
It  shoots  the  water  clear, 
There's  clanging  of  the  shields, 
And  of  the  shining  spears. 
Thor,  the  war  god,  calls  us, 
To  battle  with  our  foes, 
O'er  rough  and  stormy  seas, 
How  swift  our  dragon  goes. 

Our  enemy  is  met, 

The  victory  is  won. 

We  spread  our  rainbow  sail. 

And  home  again  we  come. 
Hiram.     That's  a  good  fighting  song. 
Harald.     Let  us  all  drink  to  Prince  Hiram  and  his 
sailors  and  wish  him  a  safe  journey  home. 
Sailors.     King  Harald!     (All  drink.) 
Hiram.     Now,  we  must  say  farewell. 
Vikings.     Farewell ! 

In  thinking  of  the  different  types  of  festivals 
and  pageants  that  could  be  utilized  In  a  school  or 
a  community  some  of  the  old  Chester  Pageants 
and  directions  for  them  may  give  something  of  a 
real  practical  guide  as  to  the  "  setting  out  of 
pageants."  In  the  Introduction  to  the  Sports  and 
Pastimes  of  the  People  of  England,  by  Joseph 
Strutt,  there  is  mentioned  an  ordinance  for  the 

219 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

mayor,  aldermen,  and  common  councilmen  of  the 
city  of  Chester  providing  for  a  pageant  to  be  pro- 
duced at  the  setting  of  the  watch  on  the  eve  of 
the  festival  of  Saint  John  the  Baptist.  It  was  to 
consist,  "  According  to  ancient  customs,"  of  four 
giants,  one  unicorn,  one  dromedary,  one  luce,  one 
camel,  one  ass,  one  dragon,  six  hobbyhorses  and 
sixteen  actors.  The  date  of  this  ordinance  was 
April  26,  1564.  The  commonwealth,  needless 
to  say,  did  away  not  only  with  the  pageant,  but 
destroyed  the  properties.  When  Charles  II  came 
to  the  throne  the  festival  was  resumed  as  usual 
and  an  order  Issued  that  "  All  things  were  to  be 
made  new,  by  reason  the  ould  modells  were  all 
broken."  For  the  giants  the  materials  demanded 
were:  "hoops  of  various  magnitudes,  and  other 
productions  of  the  cooper,  deal  boards,  nails, 
pasteboard,  scaleboard  papers  of  various  sorts, 
with  buckram,  size  cloth,  and  old  sheets  for  their 
bodies,  sleeves  and  shirts  which  were  to  be 
colored."  Added  to  all  this  were  "  also  tinsille, 
tinfoil,  gold  and  silver  leaf,  and  colors  of  different 
kinds  with  glue  and  paste  in  abundance."  And 
arsenic,  it  seems,  not  for  the  purpose  of  death, 
primarily,  but  rather  for  that  of  life,  for  one 
paper     contains     the     following     entry:     "For 

220 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

arsenick,  to  put  into  the  paste  to  save  the  giants 
from  being  eaten  by  the  rats,  one  shilling  and  four- 
pence."  Besides  making  anew  the  various  ani- 
mals and  dragons  mentioned  above,  there  had  also. 
to  be  erected  a  mayor's  mount,  the  merchant 
mount,  a  ship  to  turn,  a  castle,  Cupid  and  ar- 
rows. And  men  had  to  be  hired  to  carry  them 
as  well  as  boys  to  beat  at  the  dragon. 

A  still  more  practical  as  well  as  a  social  sug- 
gestion Is  contained  in  the  statement  that  In  such 
places  as  Coventry  and  Chester  and  York  where 
these  plays  were  elaborate  enough  to  take  several 
days  for  their  presentation,  great  care  was  exer- 
cised that  the  scenes  should  be  divided  among  those 
guilds  that  were  best  fitted  to  furnish  the  proper- 
ties. Noah's  ark  was  turned  over  to  the  ship- 
wrights; the  pageant  depicting  the  creation  was 
given  to  the  plasterers;  the  goldsmiths  took  the 
Adoration  of  the  Magi;  the  vintners  seemed  best 
fitted  to  watch  over  the  scene  where  the  water 
turns  into  wine,  and  the  bakers  took  charge  of  The 
Last  Supper ! 

Chester  claims,  too,  to  have  been  the  first  city 
to  start  the  cycle  of  Corpus  ChristI  plays  that  In 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  were  per- 
formed under  the  direction  of  the  guilds  or  of  the 

221 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

clergy  in  many  cities  and  villages  of  England. 
Probably  the  most  famous  of  the  mysteries  is  the 
Coventry  play  which  consists  of  about  forty  pag- 
eants or  acts,  taken  from  the  Scripture,  beginning 
with  the  Creation  and  ending  with  the  Judgment 
Day.  The  play  by  the  friars  began  on  Corpus 
Christi  Day  and  so  received  its  name.  Many  of 
the  original  cycles  of  these  plays  are  in  existence 
and  some  of  them  have  been  edited  separately. 

As  France  was  the  first  to  celebrate  Washing- 
ton's birthday,  thereby  giving  a  lesson  in  honor 
and  in  patriotism  to  our  countrymen,  in  the  same 
way  we  might  go  to  her  for  some  suggestions  for 
festivals  embodying  that  spirit  which  we  left  be- 
hind in  other  days,  and  have  not  yet  formed  for 
ourselves.  For  as  a  Frenchman  said  to  me,  "  In 
France,  we  have  always  fetes,  particularly  in  the 
smaller  places.  Usually  they  are  religious  or  pa- 
triotic, sometimes  both.  Every  place  has  one 
fete  a  year,  the  fete  of  its  patron  saint.  Some- 
times it  is  very  simple.  The  peasants  come  in 
dressed  in  their  newest  blouses  and  fresh  white 
bonnets,  and  they  feast  —  for  them  —  in  the  cafe 
and  they  listen  to  the  music.  Sometimes  there  is 
a  spectacle,  and  all  the  people  join  in  the  proces- 
sion." 

222 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

In  Doual,  he  went  on  to  tell  me,  is  the  fete  of 
Sire  de  Gayon.  It  is  so  old  that  its  origin  is  un- 
known. According  to  popular  belief,  Sire  de 
Gayon  was  a  knight  who  fought  successfully 
against  Louis  XI.  But  the  church,  alive  always 
to  the  benefits  of  these  fetes,  claims  that  he  was 
the  same  as  the  patron  saint.  In  the  procession 
Sire  de  Gayon  appears  as  a  figure  twenty  feet 
high,  and  Madame,  his  wife,  as  eighteen  feet 
high,  while  the  three  children  range  in  height 
from  nine  feet  to  eleven  and  over.  So  in  actual 
size  have  they  taken  on  the  heroic  proportion  that 
they  assume  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  April,  Avignon  celebrates 
the  fete  of  the  little  shepherd  boy  who,  accord- 
ing to  legend,  heard  the  voice  of  Christ  bidding 
him  to  build  a  bridge  across  the  Rhone.  The 
voice  was  so  insistent,  calling  again  and  again, 
that  he  interrupted  the  bishop  when  he  was  in 
the  middle  of  his  sermon  to  convince  the  people. 
The  bishop  ordered  him  to  prison,  but  to  show 
that  he  was  from  God  this  child  of  twelve  years 
lifted  a  block  of  stone  seventeen  feet  long  as  If 
it  had  been  a  pebble  and  carried  it  to  the  spot 
where  the  voices  told  him  that  the  bridge  was  to 
be  built.     This  so  convinced  the  people  that  the 

223 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

beautiful  bridge  used  by  the  popes  when  the  court 
was  in  Avignon  was  built;  and  the  child  gained 
recognition  as  a  saint. 

Feuds  between  the  papal  court  and  the  French, 
on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  river,  and  a  great  flood 
in  the  seventeenth  century  nearly  destroyed  the 
beautiful  bridge,  but  not  the  memory  of  the  shep- 
herd lad  whose  fete  is  held  each  year. 

In  The  Outlook  of  1908,  there  Is  an  article  on 
the  dedication  festival  of  the  Normal  school 
in  Boston.  "  This  festival,"  says  the  writer, 
"  marks  the  arrival  In  America  of  pageantry  In  Its 
most  serious  and  lofty  aspect."  As  might  be  Im- 
agined It  was  a  festival  depicting  the  growth  of 
education.  The  first  part  of  It  was  a  pageant 
showing  the  different  groups.  After  a  fanfare  of 
trumpets  the  handmaiden  of  Alma  Mater  led  out 
the  groups.  The  marvelous  effects  of  color  were 
shown  in  the  nine  classic  figures  which  were  facsim- 
iles of  the  originals  in  the  panels  of  Daniel  C. 
French  in  the  Boston  Public  Library.  Knowledge 
in  purple.  Poetry  in  vlol'et,  Romance  In  rose.  Truth 
in  blue,  Music  In  white,  and  Inspiration  in  Abbey 
red,  can  give  but  a  slight  suggestion  of  the  color 
and  grace.  Then  followed  Alma  Mater  in  gold 
and  white  holding  a  scepter  and  a  book  —  a  fac- 

224 


PLAYGROUNDS  AND  SCHOOLS 

simile  of  the  figure  by  French  at  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. In  all  there  were  twenty  groups  and 
after  the  pageant  each  group,  In  an  episode,  gave 
its  message  in  some  folk-art.  The  scholars  and 
priests  from  the  East  in  their  gorgeous  raiment 
chanted  a  Hindu  song  which  was  accompanied  by 
an  Oriental  Dance.  Arab  scholars  with  their  rich 
music  and  expressive  dance  formed  a  memorable 
group,  as  did  also  one  very  much  in  contrast  to 
this  sumptuousness  —  the  group  of  PestalozzI  sur- 
rounded by  peasant  children  dancing  a  simple  folk 
dance.  A  new  phase  of  education  was  made 
clear  in  the  last  episode.  This  was  a  group  repre- 
senting modern  education.  The  central  figure 
was  Happiness  and  she  was  surrounded  by  in- 
numerable children  dancing  for  very  joy  —  to  the 
music  of  the  Spring  Song. 

Truly  this  joy  —  joy  in  life  and  joy  In  living  — 
is  the  keynote  to  modern  education.  That  it 
vibrates  very  strongly  through  the  festival  Is  one 
reason,  the  greatest  reason,  for  this  festival  move- 
ment. For  to  give  joy  Is  to  give  life  —  to  institu- 
tions, to  people  and  to  living  Itself.  It  is  Educa- 
tion. 


225 


PART  VI 
psi^cbologic  BtCects  of  tbe  jFestipal 

"  Every  human  work  in  which  there  is  invention,  every 
voluntary  act  in  which  there  is  freedom,  every  movement 
of  an  organism  that  manifests  spontaneity  brings  some- 
thing new  to  the  world.  We  experience  creation  our- 
selves when  we  act  freely.  The  impetus  of  life  consists 
in  a  need  of  creation." —  Bergson. 

A  CHAPTER  on  the  psychologic  effects  of 
the  festival  is  really  but  a  summary  of 
much  that  has  come  before;  and  the 
psychologic  effects  appear  so  obvious  that  it  seems 
almost  unnecessary  to  point  them  out,  until  one 
remembers  that  to  the  majority  of  people  this 
festival  movement  is  considered  an  "  outside  "  and 
a  "  frivolous "  thing  compared  with  those  tre- 
mendous studies  of  History,  Education,  Science, 
and  Literature  and  the  Fine  Arts.  The  Deerfield 
Pageant,  the  Pioneer  Festival  on  the  banks  of  the 
httle  Michigan  river  ■ —  did  these  not  prove  that 
as  a  vehicle  for  teaching  history,  for  instance,  as  it 

226 


PSYCHOLOGIC  EFFECTS 

ought  to  be  taught,  making  It  a  real,  dynamic 
study,  the  festival  fulfills  an  effective  function? 

Out  of  folk-art  has  grown  fine-art.  And  it  is 
logical,  I  think,  to  believe  that  we  cannot  well 
appreciate  the  finer  arts  until  we  have  known  those 
more  simple,  and  frequently  more  appealing  folk- 
arts  from  which  they  have  grown.  And  there  are 
some  of  us  to-day  who  believe  that  there  Is  no 
truer  art  than  is  contained  in  this  same  folk-art; 
that  there  Is  nothing  more  poignant  than  the  sor- 
row of  the  folk  melody;  nothing  more  uplifting 
than  the  joy  of  a  folk  song;  that  truths  of  life 
are  seldom  more  clearly  presented  than  In  a  folk- 
tale or  a  folk-play;  and  that  human  emotion  never 
comes  to  us  with  so  little  alloy  as  in  a  folk-dance. 
In  these  Is  a  recognition  of  truth,  and  of  basic 
things,  the  things  of  the  many  rather  than  of  the 
few.  And  the  great  literature  and  the  great  art 
of  the  world  have  had  their  source  In  these. 

The  Stratford-on-Avon  Festival  movement  has 
taken  cognizance  of  this.  This  movement  Is  an 
attempt  —  a  successful  attempt  —  to  revive  the 
folk-art.  "  A  revival  of  art  which  is  not  sepa- 
rated from  life  and  work;  therefore  it  is  clean  and 
virile."  Beginning  as  near  as  possible  on  April 
23,  the  birthday  of  Shakespeare,   the  people  of 

227 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

this  little  village,  famous  the  world  over,  unite  in 
a  festival.  Their  first  tribute  is  to  their  master, 
Shakespeare,  and  in  reverent  procession  they  go 
to  the  little  church  on  the  banks  of  the  Avon  and 
after  a  brief  service  in  his  honor,  heap  the  grave 
of  Shakespeare  with  flowers  as  a  fitting  tribute  of 
their  love  for  him.  As  they  go  out  into  the 
streets  of  the  village  they  form  into  groups  of 
Morris  dancers  or  groups  to  play  some  of  the  old 
English  sports,  as  wrestling,  quarter-staff,  single- 
stick, fencing,  skipping,  and  many  others.  They 
exhibit,  too,  works  of  household  interest,  such 
as  tapestry  and  lace;  or  furniture  belonging  to 
some  special  Elizabethan  period.  Then  begins  a 
festival  of  the  works  of  the  master.  For  three 
weeks  his  plays  are  acted  in  the  Memorial  Theater 
on  the  banks  of  that  little  river  that  was  once  his 
playground.  May  Day  there  is  a  special  fes- 
tival for  the  children.  On  the  streets  appears  a 
dancer  with  a  fiddle  in  his  hand.  His  playing  is 
a  call  to  the  children,  and  leaving  their  homes, 
they  flock  on  to  the  street  to  follow  the  Pied  Piper 
of  Stratford  to  the  theater  grounds  where  they 
join  in  sports  and  dancing. 

The   Stratford-on-Avon   Festival   is  given   not 
only  in  April,  for  a  great  demand  for  the  works 

228 


PSYCHOLOGIC  EFFECTS 

of  the  master  and  a  great  sympathy  for  this  whole 
movement  has  decreed  that  the  festival  shall  be 
repeated  in  July  and  August.  And  to  prove  that 
this  is  not  merely  a  local  call,  there  has  been  estab- 
lished in  Guild  Street  an  office  which  is  a  central 
bureau  of  information  about  festivals,  pageants, 
folk,  songs,  and  all  folk-art.  This  office  is  pre- 
pared to  give  information  on  this  subject,  and,  if 
desired,  to  assist  in  other  ways.  More  than  all 
the  office  aims  to  encourage  dramatic  representa- 
tion throughout  the  country,  especially  in  villages 
by  the  villagers  themselves  and  in  schools  by  the 
students,  for  the  purposes  of  education  and  recrea- 
tion. They  keep  records  here  of  dramatic  so- 
cieties, and  of  their  performances;  and  collect  In- 
formation as  to  plays,  acting  versions,  scenery, 
costumes,  dancing,  and  games.  And  this,  because 
of  the  inspiration  of  the  great  master,  Shakes- 
peare ;  not  only  that  they  may  see  the  best  but  that 
through  this  they  may  "  act  freely  "  and  so  ex- 
perience life  itself. 

What  the  festival  has  accomplished  with  some 
of  the  East  End  children  in  London  can  be  appre- 
ciated In  the  Children's  Pageant  which  has  been, 
and  Is  now,  I  think,  acted  in  the  Art  Gallery  at 
White  Chapel.     It  Is  over  a  quarter  of  a  century 

229 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

ago  that  this  pageant  had  its  first  beginning  in  a 
bad,  impossible  concert  —  Indecent  and  vulgar. 
Now  there  is  an  historical  festival  with  gallant 
songs  and  dances  and  episodes  showing  the  growth 
of  liberty  and  of  great  deeds;  beginning  with  a 
scene  of  Boadlcea  and  her  warriors,  and  ending 
with  a  scene  of  Queen  Elizabeth  preparing  to  op- 
pose the  Spanish  Armada.  From  four  to  five 
hundred  boys  and  girls,  working  In  shifts  on  alter- 
nate nights,  take  part,  and  It  Is  not  necessary  to 
point  out  the  effect  of  this  upon  the  children  them- 
selves chiefly,  and  Its  reaction  upon  all  London. 

Where  life  has  been  most  arid,  the  flower  Is 
sometimes  most  brilliant.  I  remember  very  well 
a  girl  of  about  seventeen  years  who  entered  one  of 
the  classes  that  was  working  on  a  festival.  Her 
days  in  the  school  were  numbered.  "  Stupid," 
"  Impossible,"  said  the  teachers,  after  many  un- 
successful trials  with  her.  *'  No  use  for  her  to 
stay  here  wasting  our  time  and  hers."  When  the 
class  finally  decided  to  take,  as  Its  subject  for  a 
festival,  "  The  Rise  of  the  White  Man  and  the 
Simultaneous  Fall  of  the  Red  Man,"  as  they  stated 
it,  her  interest  seemed  to  awake.  They  were 
asked  to  bring  In  anecdotes  about  Indians.  If 
any  one  knew  any  Indians  personally,  why,  we 

230 


PSYCHOLOGIC  EFFECTS 

would  gain  so  much  the  more.  After  class,  she 
stopped  at  my  desk  and  in  a  nervous,  half-fright- 
ened way,  said  that  she  lived  right  up  among  the 
Indians  and  knew  lots  of  them.  Slowly  we  per- 
suaded h,er  to  tell  us  some  of  her  own  experiences, 
and  as  she  saw  that  she  had  something  to  con- 
tribute which  the  pupils  were  actually  making  use 
of,  she  gained  more  confidence.  Never  before 
had  she  been  of  any  actual  worth !  And  after 
class  when  they  gathered  around  her,  anxious  for 
what  she  could  give  them,  she  became  a  different 
person.  We  could  actually  see  her  grow.  And 
when  she  was  assigned  to  a  position  of  responsibil- 
ity in  the  festival,  school  took  on  a  different  aspect 
to  her,  and  progress  was  reported  in  all  of  her 
classes. 

In  The  New  Basis  of  Civilization,  Simon  N. 
Patten  says  that  prolongation  of  childhood  has 
united  the  family  in  the  same  way  that  war,  want, 
and  uncertain  income  united  the  larger  groups; 
and  that  when  poverty  continues  long  enough  to 
affect  children,  maturity  is  hastened  and  the  un- 
folding of  higher  faculties  is  arrested  so  that  the 
race  reverts  to  a  more  primitive  type.  He  goes 
on  to  say  that  it  is  only  the  highest  types  of  man 
who  can  mold  their  conduct  by  abstract  thought 

231 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

and  pure  reflection;  that  the  lower  types  must 
watch  the  instructive,  enlightening  deed  itself,  and 
so  deduct  right  and  wrong  from  more  simple 
processes.  That  the  folk-art  can  help  in  this  is 
clear  from  his  definition  of  morality.  "  Moral- 
ity is  a  complex  of  simpler  qualities  so  arranged 
that  the  social  elements  in  human  nature  control 
the  unsocial." 

In  "  Types  of  School  Festivals,"  by  Frank  A. 
Manny,  published  in  the  Elementary  School 
Teacher  of  1907,  the  author  says:  "Our  hope 
for  a  deeper  enjoyment  of  the  meaning  of  activi- 
ties on  the  part  of  adults  lies  in  making  use  of  the 
fact  that  some  value  is  attached  by  the  adults  to 
this  phase  for  children  in  the  plastic  period.  If 
we  work  out  what  we  can  for  the  children,  the 
grown-ups  may  find  that  their  own  period  of 
growth  and  consequent  enjoyment  are  longer  than 
they  had  thought." 

"  To  the  grown  person,"  says  Stevenson,  "  cold 
mutton  is  cold  mutton  all  the  world  over;  not  all 
the  mythology  ever  invented  by  man  will  make  it 
better  or  worse  to  him.  But  for  the  child  it  is 
still  possible  to  weave  an  enchantment  over  eat- 
ables; and  if  he  has  but  read  of  a  dish  in  a  story- 
book, it  will  be  heavenly  manna  to  him  for  a  week. 

232 


PSYCHOLOGIC  EFFECTS 

"  We  grown  people  can  tell  ourselves  a  story, 
give  and  take  strokes  until  the  bucklers  ring,  ride 
far  and  fast,  marry%  fall  and  die;  all  the  while 
sitting  quietly  by  the  fire  or  lying  prone  in  bed. 
This  is  exactly  what  a  child  cannot  do,  or  does  not 
do,  at  least,  when  he  can  find  anything  else.  He 
works  all  with  lay  figures  and  stage  properties. 
When  his  story  comes  to  the  fighting,  he  must  rise, 
get  something  by  way  of  a  sword  and  have  a  set-to 
with  a  piece  of  furniture  until  he  is  out  of  breath. 
When  he  comes  to  ride  with  the  king's  pardon  he 
must  bestride  a  chair,  which  he  will  so  hurry  and 
belabor,  and  on  which  he  will  so  furiously  demean 
himself,  that  the  messenger  will  arrive,  if  not 
bloody  with  spurring,  at  least  fiery  red  with  haste. 
If  his  romance  Involves  an  accident  upon  a  cliff, 
he  must  clamber  in  person  about  the  chest  of 
drawers  and  fall  bodily  upon  the  carpet,  before 
his  imagination  is  satisfied.  Lead  soldiers,  dolls, 
all  toys,  in  short,  are  in  the  same  category  and 
answer  the  same  end. 

"  Alas  I  when  we  betake  ourselves  to  our  intel- 
lectual form  of  play,  sitting  quietly  by  the  fire  or 
lying  prone  in  bed,  we  rouse  many  hot  feelings  for 
which  we  can  find  no  outlet." 

If  we  could  but  prolong  this  pleasure  period 
233 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

and  do  away  for  a  little  longer  with  the  "  cold 
mutton  "  of  life  how  grateful  we  might  be!  For 
the  prolongation  of  youth  would  mean  the  pro- 
longation of  progress.  If  you  had  stepped  into 
the  "  festival  room  "  one  dull  wintry  day  you 
would  have  been  convinced  that  the  prolongation 
of  —  well,  you  might  call  it  —  infancy,  was  a 
definite  thing.  On  the  floor  in  a  circle  were  about 
twenty  grown-ups  playing  "  Monsieur  le  Duke  is 
dead,"  a  game  that  they  had  learned  from  some 
of  their  Dutch  friends.  The  starter  would  turn 
to  his  neighbor  at  the  left  with  the  startling  an- 
nouncement, "  Monsieur  le  Duke  is  dead  "  !  And 
this  information  would  be  passed  in  rapid-fire 
succession  around.  Then  came  that  pertinent 
question,  "  What  did  he  die  of?  "  When  it  came 
to  the  ear  of  the  starter  she  volunteered  the  infor- 
mation, "  Of  one  eye  closed,"  whereupon  she  shut 
her  eye  as  did  her  neighbor  when  she  in  turn 
conveyed  It  to  the  next.  The  starter  added  an- 
other symptom,  "  And  a  stiff  neck."  To  compli- 
cate this  was,  "  A  crooked  mouth  ";  and  "  Shak- 
ing hands";  and  Monsieur  le  Duke,  "Couldn't 
keep  still,"  until  at  the  last  there  was  a  circle 
of  bobbing,  grotesque,  one-eyed,  stiff-necked, 
crooked-mouth  beings   who   manufactured   mirth 

234 


PSYCHOLOGIC  EFFECTS 

in  the  factory  of  this  folk-game.  One  day  they 
played  it  for  some  children,  and  to  use  their  own 
expression,  "  The  children  went  wild."  About 
three  hundred  of  them  watched  with  cheers  and 
clapping  hands  until  they,  too,  began  to  bob  up 
and  down  and  screw  their  necks  and  twist  their 
mouths  as  if  some  mischievous  elf  had  waved  her 
wand  and  put  all  under  the  enchantment  of  mirth. 
No  chapter  that  attempts  to  suggest  some  of 
the  psychologic  effects  of  the  festival  is  complete, 
I  feel,  without  the  story  of  a  little  woman  in  the 
extension  class  of  the  Normal  school.  As  the 
teachers  began  their  work  on  the  May  Day  festi- 
val one  knew  from  the  appeal  in  her  eye  how 
difficult  and  lonesome  was  the  "  new  way  "  for 
her,  and  she  came  to  be  distinguished  as  the 
"  caged  thrush,"  for  she  seemed  rare  and  very 
shy.  After  some  time  it  developed  that  she 
taught  a  district  school  of  about  thirty  pupils, 
ranging  in  age  from  four  years  to  fifteen.  It 
was  the  usual  little  white  schoolhouse  on  the  cross- 
roads, and  the  Board's  chief  concern  seemed  to  be 
one  of  economy.  She  had  no  money  to  get  a  book 
containing  May  Day  songs,  and  none  of  the  farm 
bookshelves  in  her  district  seemed  to  hold  any- 
thing   so    foreign.     As    for    games    and   dances, 

235 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

where  to  get  them  she  could  not  think.     It  was  a 
puzzling  situation. 

"  Then,  you  see  what  amuses  the  little  tots 
seems  so  silly  to  the  big  boys,"  she  said.  Some 
of  the  others  came  to  her  assistance  and  offered 
to  show  her  the  steps  of  the  May-pole  dance. 
These  she  practiced  in  the  schoolhouse  after  the 
children  had  gone  home.  Her  problem,  so  differ- 
ent from  the  others,  was  watched  with  much  inter- 
est, and  upon  inquiry  —  she  seldom  offered  any 
information  —  she  said:  "Oh,  yes,  we  are  get- 
ting along,  although  I  don't  quite  see  how  it  will 
turn  out.  But  the  big  boys  promised  to  get  an 
old  pole  that  used  to  belong  to  a  wagon  of  Mr. 
Smith's.  He  said  we  could  take  it,  and  the  boys 
will  put  it  up  in  the  yard  for  the  May-pole. 
Then,  one  of  the  girls  in  the  school  said  she  found 
some  cheesecloth  that  was  used  at  a  social,  and  we 
could  take  it  for  streamers.  But  you  see,  I'm 
afraid  to  take  the  time  in  school  to  teach  them  how 
to  wind  the  pole  or  dance  the  dance,  because  I'm 
afraid  the  Board  wouldn't  like  it,  so  I  have  to  do 
it  at  recess  time.  One  thing  did  encourage  me. 
One  of  the  boys,  John,  suggested  that  we  make 
Jane  —  she's  the  littlest  tot  — the  queen,  and  put 
her  in   an   old  milk  cart  that  John  thought  his 

236 


PSYCHOLOGIC  EFFECTS 

father  would  loan  us,  and  trim  it  with  flowers,  and 
let  some  of  the  boys  draw  it.  I'm  rather  afraid 
they  might  ov^erturn  the  cart,  they're  so  mischie- 
vous. What  do  you  think?"  It  was  suggested 
that  she  try,  at  least  —  it  was  all  one  could  do  in 
a  laboratory.  Then,  in  her  quiet  voice,  she  anx- 
iously added:  "But  the  songs  bother  me.  Do 
you  think  we  could  use  the  songs  we  know, 
'  Marching  Through  Georgia  '  and  '  John 
Brown's  Body'?"  A  copy  of  some  May  Day 
songs  was  quickly  offered  her  by  those  who  felt 
that  the  songs  she  mentioned,  with  their  somewhat 
militant  associations,  were  hardly  fitting,  and  she 
went  away  with  a  clearer  light  in  her  eye. 

After  it  was  all  over,  she  slipped  up  to  the  in- 
structor and  said:  "  I  thought  you  might  be  in- 
terested to  know  how  it  all  turned  out.  I  was  so 
surprised!  The  children  came  dressed  in  their 
prettiest  clothes,  and  the  people  came,  too,  some 
from  thirty  miles !  I  think  it  is  the  first  time  that 
they  have  ever  come  together;  and  we  had  such 
a  good  time  I  "  Then,  with  a  little  catch  in  her 
voice,  "  Do  you  know,  after  it  was  all  over,  the 
fathers  and  mothers  brought  out  ice-cream  and 
cake  for  a  surprise  !  And  they  want  another  next 
year."     As  she   turned  away,   she   added,   as   an 

237 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

afterthought,  "  Oh,  yes,  and  the  Board  raised  my 
salary." 

In  looking  over  the  results  of  the  festival,  I 
think  they  naturally  divide  themselves  into:  the 
effect  on  the  individual  participant;  the  effect  on 
the  spectators;  and  the  effect  on  the  community. 
The  illustrations  of  festivals  that  have  been  noted 
in  this  and  preceding  parts,  I  hope,  have  demon- 
strated the  value  and  pointed  out  the  psychology 
of  the  festival  movement.  A  repetition  might 
prove  wearisome.  There  are  some  dangers.  In 
any  organized  play  movement  spontaneity  is  apt 
to  be  killed.  And  this  of  course  is  fatal.  Keep- 
ing in  mind  the  ultimate  trend  of  the  movement 
we  must  content  ourselves  with  some  crude  prod- 
ucts in  order  that  from  such  virile  stock  the  health 
of  the  festival  may  be  assured. 

For  the  festival,  I  believe,  gives  a  broader 
and  bigger  idea  of  life. 

It  helps  us  to  act  freely  and  so  to  be  creators. 

It  changes  the  attitude  of  mind  towards  our 
work  (perhaps  stimulating,  in  the  general  stu- 
dent better  than  any  other  one  thing  a  research 
habit). 

By  bringing  us  in  contact  with  the  past,  with  the 
lives   of   great   people,    with    the   movement   of 

238 


PSYCHOLOGIC  EFFECTS 

events,  with  the  expression  of  peoples,  It  gives 
us  a  greater  appreciation  and  a  larger  culture. 

By  prolonging  our  period  of  enjoyment  it  pro- 
longs our  progress. 

It  is  one  means  for  self-expression,  for  com- 
munity expression,  for  national  expression,  for 
world  expression. 

It  helps  to  break  down  barriers  of  race  and 
class. 

It  is  a  democratic  force  making  for  a  greater 
democratic  unity. 

Truly,  then,  we  may  say  with  Alexander  the 
Great,  "  One  should  make  a  serious  study  of  a 
pastime," 


239 


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FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Perry,  C.  A.,  Wider  use  of  the  school  plant.     N.  Y.,  Charities 
pub.   com.,   19  lo. 

RowBOTHAM,  J.  F.,  History  of  music.     London,  Bentley,  1893. 

ScuDDER,  M.  T.,  Field  day  arid  play  picnic  for  country  children. 

N.  Y.,  Charities  pub.  com.,  1908. 
Stevenson,    R.    L.,    Child's   play.     (See    Virginibus   puerisque.) 

N.  Y.,  Scribner,  1907.      (Thistle  ed.,  p.  136-149.) 
Strutt,  Joseph,  Sports  and  pastimes  of  the  people  of  England. 

London,  Chatto  &  Windus,  1876. 

Walsh,   W.    S.,    Curiosities    of   popular   customs.    Phila.,   Lip- 
pincott,   1904. 

PERIODICALS 

Calthorp,  D.   C,   The  passing  of  Pierrot.     {Li'ving  Age,  267; 

736-742,   Dec.   17,   1910.) 
Calthorp,   D.   C,   Chicago's  third  play  festival.     {Survey,  23; 

195-200,  Nov.  6,  1909.) 
Calthorp,  D.  C,   Christmas  in  the  days  of  old.     {Living  age, 

104;   332-344,  Feb.  5,  1870.) 
Calthorp,  D.  C,  Contributors'  club ;  A  Christmas  play  in  Corn- 

fwall.     (Atlantic   monthly,  55;   275-278,   Feb.,   1885.) 

Dykema,  p.  W.,  a  lesson  in  the  association  of  ivork  and  play. 
{Craftsman,  12;   647-54,  Sept.,  1907.) 

Edgerton,    Giles,    Pantomime,    its    place   in    education    and   its 

significance    to    the    arts.     {Craftsman,    17;    637-46,    March, 

1910.) 
Emmons,    Myra,   Pageantry   for   children.      {Outlook,   98;    659- 

64,  July  22,    1911.) 
Emmons,   Myra,   Festival    of  play   and  folk   dance.     {Outlook, 

90;   145-6,  Sept.  26,   1908.) 

Frazer,  J.  G.,  Feasts  of  All  Souls.     {Fortnightly  rev.,  86;  475- 
86,    Sept.,    1906.) 

Frazer,   J.   G.,    The  Saturnalia   and   kindred  festivals.     {Fort- 
nightly rev.,  74;  653-76;  825-49,  Oct.-Nov.,  1900.) 
242 


REFERENCES 

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school  teacher,  8;  413-22,  April,  1908.) 
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AHard,    William,    The    Old    West    in    pageant.      {Outlook,    94; 
'       182-90,  Jan.  22,  1910.) 
Hearn,    Lafcadio,    The    festival    of    the    lueaving-lady    of    the 

7nilky-ivay.      {Atlantic  monthly,  96;   238-50,  Aug.,   1905.) 
Hemming,  Mrs.  G.  V.,  Festum  stultorum.     {Nineteenth  century, 

57;   1000-1008,  June,  1905.) 
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{Craftsman,  12;   667-69,  Sept.,   1907.) 
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59,   Nov.  7,   1903.) 
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1901.) 
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243 


FOLK  FESTIVALS 

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33,  May,  1897.) 
^:^Wallach,  R.  T.,   The  social  value  of  the  festival.     {Charities, 

16;  314-19,  June  2,  1906.) 
^|(;^Warner,   C.   D.,   Christmas  in  past  times.     {Harper's   monthly 

magazine,  70;  3-17,  Dec,  1884.) 


244 


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